PARALLEL SESSION 5
The session aims to establish the evidence base and limits of nature-based and hybrid coastal defence approaches in India.
It will examine the technical and planning challenges of shifting from site-specific hard coastal defences to integrated, nature-based and hybrid approaches. The session will delve into looking where interventions such as mangroves, salt marshes, dunes and reefs can provide effective protection, where engineered measures remain necessary, and how these choices can be informed by local coastal dynamics, erosion patterns and ecosystem conditions. Discussion will explore coast-scale planning, community knowledge, urban infrastructure integration, and the policy, financing and institutional mechanisms needed to translate evidence into durable, context-specific solutions.
Moderator:
- Dr. Shalini Dhyani, Principal Scientist, CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Institute, Nagpur
Panellists:
- Dr. Ritesh Kumar, Director, Wetlands International South Asia (TBC)
- Dr. Saudamini Das, Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, India
- Dr. Deepak Samuel V., Scientist E & Project Lead, Conservation of Coastal and Marine Resources Division (CMR), National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), India
- Dr. Rupesh K Bhomia, Director, Wetlands, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
- Ajanta Dey, Joint Secretary and Programme Director, Nature Environment & Wildlife Society