The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Zone Management (NCSCZM) was launched at Anna University in Chennai on Monday, supported by a consortium of 11 institutions, according to a report in The Hindu.

The ministry of environment and forests announced an investment of Rs 166 crore to create the consortium. The ministry was in the process of finalising the Coastal Regulation Zone notification 2010. Integrated coastal zone management projects were also being launched in the states of West Bengal, Orissa and Gujarat.

Additional secretary J M Mauksar said the NCSCZM would provide technical inputs to government policies on coastal zone management, in keeping with Anna University's vision for the Centre. The Centre would focus on capacity building and research in coastal zone management, and have an outreach component to coastal communities, and also link up with such institutions around the world. Jairam Ramesh, minister of environment and forests, stressed the importance of linking research with coastal communities and their field-conditions and challenges.

Eminent scientist M S Swaminathan opined that the Centre would help strengthen research and train capabilities to handle the problems of climate change in coastal areas, alongwith concerns of economic, ecological and social sustainability.

K Kasturirangan, member of the planning commission and former head of ISRO, said a satellite to monitor greenhouse gases would be launched in two or three years, as well as one to study forest cover. The proposal for a satellite to study the coastal zone exclusively was also mooted.