Beyond sea walls: Community-led non-mangrove bio-shields for coastal protection in Tamil Nadu

As climate-related coastal disasters intensify, hard infrastructure like sea walls often fail to provide long-term protection. Drawing from post-tsunami experiences in Pulicat, P Thamizoli discusses the development of community-based non-mangrove bio shields, where coastal communities themselves identified and planted appropriate tree species to protect their settlements.

These bio shields function as wind breakers, wave dampeners, and shoreline stabilisers — demonstrating that nature-based solutions can be effective, resilient, and socially inclusive approaches to coastal protection and disaster mitigation