Impact of Tourism Through The Real Estate (Construction) Sector On The Coastal Environment Of Goa – A case study of Panjim

Impact of Tourism Through The Real Estate (Construction) Sector On The Coastal Environment Of Goa – A case study of Panjim

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Yogesh Kumar Sharma,

Masters of Environmental Planning,

School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal

Abstract:-Goa is the 25th state in the union of India and lies on the western coast. The state is bounded by Arabian sea on the west side which is economically very important for Goa and on the north and north east its bounded by Maharashtra and on east and south its bounded by Karnataka. Goa is also counted as most progressive state by the socio economic indicators and was ranked No.1 by the Eleventh Finance Commission India in terms of Infrastructure facilities this puts Goa under tremendous pressure to keep the state progressing the tourism sector is major contributor to the state GDP and being a tourist destination of choice both by foreign and domestic it has seen a continues hike in the number of tourist visiting state year by year.

The infrastructure facility catering to tourism like real-estate sector which has potential in the sub sectors like residential sector, commercial sector, retail sector, hospitality sector and industrial sector are land intensive. The study area which is the capital of called Panaji or Panjim is one of the most visited places due to its central location to the entire major tourist destination in the north Goa district. It is also a most favored location among tourist visiting north Goa for their accommodation during their visit to Goa.

Panjim mostly the reclaimed land which was reclaimed centuries ago, the places like Fountainhas, Campal and Mala are the location which has high heritage importance and are located around the major the natural resources like khazan lands, mangroves and sand dunes along the beach stretch which 4.5 Km long starting from the Caranzalem and up to Campal.

Panjim as a city is expanding due to the in migration from the country and state in search of better employment opportunities and due to being one of the most comfortable cities to live in after the retirement. Due to this a lot of new construction of apartments and villas and private residence had come up in and around the Panjim city in Tiswadi taluka of North Goa District. So due to the above mentioned all the reason there is a lot of demand for the land and most of it being full filled by reclaiming land putting the major natural resources at threat like Khazan lands, Salt pans, Mangroves and sand dunes along the beach.

Key words:-Real estate, Residential, Commercial, Retail Hospitality, Industrial, Natural resources, Khazan land, Mangroves, Creeks, Sand dunes, Land use, Delineation.

1.1. Contextual background

1. INTRODUCTION

Goa is the smallest state by area and is the fourth smallest by the population in India. It is also known for its natural environment and the world heritage architectural sites. Goa is rich in flora and fauna due to its proximity to the Western Ghats and Arabian Sea, which makes it an excellent tourist destination.

Capital of Goa is Panaji & the largest city of Goa is Vasco Da Gama, few other Important Cities are Margao, Ponda, Mapusa, etc. Goa is divided into 2 Divisions, North Goa Headquarters with its

km) with the Population (2011 census) 1.34 million and the Literacy rate (%) is 82.3, Sex ratio (per 1000 males) is 960. The total length of coastline is 130 km, the length of National Highway in state is 224 km the

Picture 1 : Regional Setting

headquarters in Panaji and South Goa with its Headquarters in Margao. Goa has an Area of 4000(sq

Domestic cum international airport in the state is also located in the city of Vasco Da Gama, Goa is also

famous for its ports with Mormugao being a Major Port & Panaji is a minor port. Key Industries in the state are Fisheries, Pharmaceuticals, Tourism and Hospitality, Mining and Mineral based, Information Technology.

The coastal plain consisting of estuaries, khazan lands and mangroves constitutes about 22% of the geographical area and falls in the talukas of Bardez, Tiswadi, Marmugoa and Salcette.

Goa has nine major rivers, all of which, except the Sal in South Goa, originate on the Western Ghats and subsequently meander over falls and rapids (during young/initial stage), from where they tend to become sluggish (during mature stage) and then ultimately form the mouths of estuaries and drain into the sea (old stage). Most of these rivers are subject to tidal variations and salinity up to a distance of 20-40 kms upstream from their respective estuarine mouth regions. Most of these rivers are excellent navigational channels used extensively for transporting ore through barges from ore loading jetties to Mormugoa harbour for onwards for export. The study is mainly to find out what is effect of all potential factors related to tourism industry in respect to the real estate and construction industry to natural resources of Goa, the study area taken up is Panjim due the reason that its the state capital and also very rich in natural resources apart from being main transit and Areas having natural resources under threat. Areas with maximum tourist inflow in the city.

Areas where recent development is taking

place.

1.2. Aim

To Access the Impact of Developing Real Estate (Construction Industry) Sector Related to Tourism in the state On the Coastal Environment of Goa, by Studying of Selected zones of Panjim city and its Evaluation of Vulnerability for the Major Natural Resources under Threat.

1.3. Objectives

Improve understanding about the effects of tourism.

Identify where improvement is needed and where change is occurring.

Enable destination and businesses to remain competitive without harming the Ecosystem.

1.4. Need for the study

The quality of the environment, both natural and man-made, is essential to tourism.

Tourism development can put pressure on natural resources when it increases consumption in areas where resources are already scarce.

Impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and airports, and of tourism facilities, including resorts, hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses and marinas.

The negative impacts of tourism development can gradually destroy the environmental resources on which it depends.

Negative impacts from tourism occur when the level of visitor use is greater than the environment's ability to cope with this use within the acceptable limits of change (Carrying Capacity).

It can put enormous pressure on an area and lead to impacts such as: soil erosion, increased pollution, discharges into the sea, natural habitat loss, increased pressure on endangered species and heightened vulnerability to Mangroves, Khazan Land & Sand dunes.

It often puts a strain on water resources, and it can force local populations to compete for the use of critical resources.

1.5. Major resources under threat

The resources which are under threat in and around the Panjim city are as follows:

Khazan lands

Mangroves

Creeks

Sandunes in and around the beach.

Figure 1 : Objective of the study2.2. Scope of the Study2.3. Objectives2.4. Outcomes2.5. Case Study On The Effects of Tourism on culture and Environment, A Case study of Jaisalmer, Khajuraho & Goa2.7. Scope of the Study2.8. Objective2.9. Outcome3.2. Creeks3.3. Sand dunes4.2. Developing activities4.3. Demographic Study4.5. Ecologically sensitive areas4.6. Land Use map city of Panjim4.8. Land Reclamation4.9.1. Land eclamation Till 19934.9.2. Land reclamation Till 20164.9.3. Land reclamation and destruction to sand dunes

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