The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, №
26. - 2011. - p.p. 569–612.With an overwhelming majority of India’s population living on the coast and depending on
coastal resources for their sustenance and livelihood, sustainable coastal development is of
critical importance to this country. India is also susceptible to the impacts of climate change
and sea level rise. This article reviews India’s attempts to manage its long coastline and coastal
resources through the instrumentality of law. The salient features of its first coastal law of 1991
and the subsequent draft law of 2008, culminating with a new law adopted in 2011, are analyzed
in detail. Specifically, this article examines how these laws provide for integrated coastal
zone management, the primary methodology to attain sustainable coastal development, and
how they further adaptation to sea level rise. The article argues that, as it stands, India’s coastal
law is ineffective to further these two objectives.
