Nature-based solutions (NBS) for sustainable development of the resource base and ecosystem services of marine and coastal ecosystems of India

The imminent dangers due to increasing anthropogenic stress on the coastal seas, as well as marine pollution in the Anthropocene, have highlighted the need to devise and adopt novel eco-sustainable solutions through the use of technology for India. Special emphasis on the use of scientifically derived marine fishery advisories (MFAs) can have multiple co-benefits with the utilization of nature-based solutions (NbS) for monitoring and management of coastal and marine resource bases. Such co-management options can be effective to realize the targets for Sustainable Development Goals 14 (SDG 14) for 2030. At present, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) provides the MFAs on a daily basis by using a combination of data from satellite imageries and ground-based datasets. However, sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems services needs to be informed by appropriate technological models of resources usage, including the incorporation of coastal zone management plans as per NbS frameworks for achieving long-term successes. The present study highlights the need to adopt NbS and MFAs as co-management approaches for adaptation and/or mitigation of the impacts of climatic and environmental factors as well as for fostering sustainable fishing initiatives for the Bay of Bengal. Such integrative methodologies are crucial for the development of model-based policy frameworks for sustainable marine resources management. Accordingly, an assessment of the NbS techniques for deriving a new adaptive framework is presented and discussed in the context of consideration of MFAs as NbS Assisting Technologies (NAT) to obtain significant co-benefits for sustainable development.