Coastal Flood Management and Climate Adaptation Consultant

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

India 🇮🇳

Expertise: Coastal Flood Management and Climate Adaptation
Expertise Group: Biological Sciences & Ecology

Consultant Source: International
TOR Keywords:

Objective and Purpose of the Assignment

India’s coastline of 7,525 km spans nine states with a population of about 171 million. The coastal area
is highly prone to flooding and coastal erosion due to a combination of natural processes, including
extreme waves, storm surges, and cyclones, changes in sediment movement alongshore and from rivers to
their confluence with deltas and estuaries. The interplay of human activities along the coastline, such
as urbanization and climate change, further exacerbates the fragility of the coastline. Between 1990 and
2018, about one-third of India’s coastlines suffered from severe erosion, significantly impacting human
life, livelihoods, coastal ecosystems, infrastructure, and assets. Coastal erosion along India’s west
coast has significantly increased in the last two decades, including in Kerala where 47 % of coastline
experienced erosion of more than 0.5 m per year between 2001 and 2021.

Kerala coast is classified as high risk to extreme events such as cyclones, coastal flooding, and
landslides. This is reinforced by the impacts of recent flood events, including Cyclone Ockhi in 2007,
Tauktae in 2021, and the flood in 2018. These resulted in a total death toll of more than 500 people,
displacement of families, damages to houses and coastal infrastructure, loss of land, and extensive
economic damages.

According to the Kerala Irrigation Department, the state agency responsible for coastal protection,
about 118 km out of the existing 365 km of seawall is heavily damaged, and about 171 km of the coast
needs immediate coastal protection. There are numerous examples where human activities have contributed
to or caused coastal erosion. Such factors include reduced sediment supply due to river damming and sand
mining, construction of littoral barriers such as groynes and breakwaters, removal of sand by port
dredging/landfilling activities, etc. In addition, the coast’s urbanization has exacerbated natural
erosion phenomena into problems of growing intensity. Significant reductions in coastal sand
availability and space have made the Kerala coast more vulnerable to coastal erosion. As a result, many
once-stable beaches have turned to erode, and in some instances, the observed extent of coastal erosion
is severe, warranting immediate protection measures.

The government of Kerala intends to implement the “Kerala Sustainable Coastal Protection and Climate
Resilience Planning Project (KSCP&CRPP)” with funding support from multi-lateral funding agencies,
including the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Project aims to protect, restore and preserve the
vulnerable coastal environment for the benefit of the present and future generations. Key objectives of
the Project are (i) sustainable management, development and use of the coastal environment; (ii) address
the immediate coastal protection needs and coastal instability using environmentally and socially
appropriate solutions; (iii) strengthening the climate resilience of the coastal zone and (iv) enhance
the capacities of institutions for effective shoreline management and development.

The state proposes implementing ten coastal protection projects identified as hotpots requiring urgent
and site-specific intervention. The suggested hotspots are highly eroding sites where the erosion is
directly affecting coastal infrastructure like roads, schools, hospitals, and private and public
properties. These sites require long-term sustainable coastal protection based on site-specific studies
and stakeholder consultation. Although some emergency measures have been implemented at some sites on an
ad-hoc basis, given the criticality of the site, long-term and sustainable solutions are to be
implemented. The proposed works involve fresh planning and designing based on detailed site-specific
investigations and studies, followed by stakeholder consultation, implementation and monitoring.

Scope of Work

The Specialist will work with the project team and will be responsible to undertake a system assessment
of past and current coastal flooding issues along the Kerala coastline, future predictions of coastal
flooding accounting for sea level rise and relevant climate changes scenarios, including changes in
extreme wave conditions, associated impacts, and identification of possible adaptation options.

Detailed Tasks and/or Expected Output

The specialist will be responsible for the following detailed tasks:

(i) Assessment of impacts of flood events for different return periods and climate scenarios;
(ii) Identification of suitable coastal adaptation measures to mitigate current and future risks from
coastal erosion and flooding;
(iii) Based on a review of the DPRs currently being prepared under the project, evaluation of the
effectiveness of the different coastal adaptation measures in terms of reduced flood impact for each of
the 12 sites and under different climate change scenarios; and
(iv) Based on numerical modelling, support the review and estimation of boundary conditions to be used
in the interventions identified in the DPRs for each of the 12 project sites as prepared by NCR.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

The specialist will have at least a master’s degree in coastal engineering, and preferably 15 years of
professional experience in coastal hydrodynamics, coastal engineering, coastal processes and flood
modelling. The specialist will have extensive experience in planning, design of coastal protection
projects facilities, project management and experience in designing ADB-funded projects (or by any other
similar international funding agencies).

Minimum General Experience: 20 Years
Minimum Specific Experience (relevant to assignment): 15 Years


POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

You ad could be here!