The tourism oriented coastal state stands to lost as much as 30 per cent of its economic activity due to global warming a leading science a leading economist in the state has warned saying that the effects of global warming are already beginning to show themselves in Goa’s coastal areas.
Mangesh Nagarajan, a senior faculty at the Goa Institute of Management, among the nation’s premier B-Schools, said that 1.47 lakh people could stand to be jobless in the wake of rising sealevels which he said have already begun to show.
“30 per cent economic activity in Goa is vulnerable to global warming, especially its seven coastal sub districts,” Nagarajan said adding that 1.47 lakh tourism-oriented jobs dealing with hospitality, transport, fishing, water sports sectors etc were at risk due to global warming.
Nagarajan ominously said that the foundations of several starred resorts and hotels in the coastal villages of Anjuna were corroding due to sea level rise and it was all the more important that “there is proper enforcement of Coastal Regulation Zone laws and control on realty in these areas.
Rapid sand erosion as well and coastal inundation has also been a cause of concern for coastal communities in recent times. Goa’s coastline, according to top green officials has risen by ten inches over the last decade.
Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in India and attracts three million tourists annually.