Building resilience of the coastal communities of Bhitarakanika, Odisha through increased livelihood security

The project area is along the coastal belts around mangrove ecosystem of Bhitarakanika National Park which is frequently exposed to storms and cyclones. Threats of saline inundation has added to the woes of the coastal communities who mainly rely on monsoon dependent mono cropping agriculture namely paddy. Although the area receives adequate rainfall, but absence of low-water use agricultural technology along with inadequate and unscientific use of water harvesting structures have made the area dry and unproductive after monsoon. The existing water bodies are also not sustainably managed for fish production, on the contrary unscientific aquaculture especially shrimp farms are allowing saline intrusion inside the agricultural lands. Further the area has been declared Eco-Sensitive Zone in 2015.The remoteness, poor connectivity has further aggravated the situation.