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Gujarat has the longest coastline (1,663 km) among the Indian states. The Saurashtra region in Gujarat has a coastline of 1,134 Km and a total geographic area of 60.95 lakh hectares. The long coastline in Saurashtra supports a large section of poor, vulnerable populations (Gujarat SAPCC1,2014). A large number of people living in the coastal Saurashtra area are engaged in natural resource-based activities of farming, animal husbandry, fisheries, salt production, and charcoal making. Also, around 60% of total families are involved in farming activities since generation. Nearly 70% of these families are small and marginal farmers holding land less than 2.5 Ha.
However, in the last few decades, the problem of salinity in Gress has emerged as a major ecological challenge in coastal Saurashtra, which has affected agriculture, endangered health, and contaminated the groundwater sources. The problem of salinity in gress was first detected in the late sixties and early seventies due to the massive exploitation of underground water facilitated by the introduction of water lifting pumpsets in the region.
The salinity in gress, consequently, was a result of the disruption of the natural hydrological balance between freshwater and sea water in coastal areas. In addition to this hydrological imbalance,the seawater enters in land through streams, rivers, and creeks. In 1971 seawater ingress was observed at a distance between 2.5 and 4.5 km from the coast. However, the salinity-hit area extended between 5.0 and 7.5km from the coast in 1977 and has increased by more than 9 times during 1979 –2003 in the area from Una to Bhavnagar (Hirway and Patel 2003), as reported by Salinity IngressPrevention Cell (SIPC), a scheme of government of Gujarat (Narmada, Water Resources, water supply and Kalpsar department).
Due to the erratic nature of rainfall in recent years and the absence of perennial rivers, ground water remains the only reliable source for irrigation in the region. Consequently, agriculture in the coastal Saurashtra is largely dependent on ground water aquifers.
Addressing the Issue Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell (CSPC) works with the vision to evolve sustainable approaches for prevention and mitigation of salinity ingress, whilst enhancing livelihood resilience of communities affected by salinity in coastal villages. CSPC functions with an integrated approach to address major concern areas in salinity hit coastal regions of Gujarat to create a holistic and sustainable development model. Our project areas consist of livelihood, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH), water resource management, drinking water security, animal husbandry and education. Our current programs focus on adoption of sustainable agriculture practices, menstrual hygiene management, solid waste management, drinking water, water security and education.
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