Women Leading Climate Resilience on India’s Coasts

By Abhishek Gijare, Samuel Bathula and Tazeen Qureshy /UNDP India

June 5, 2026

India’s 7,500 kilometre coastline sustains millions of fishing and farming families. But stronger storms, erratic monsoons, shifting fish stocks, and rising salinity are reshaping life along the coast. Yet communities are adapting. In Maharashtra, a woman is helping restore mangroves that protect coastal villages. In Odisha, a farmer is earning a more reliable income from her paddy fields while using less water. In Andhra Pradesh, a fisherwoman has built a thriving seaweed enterprise in the open sea. Together, their stories show how local innovation is helping coastal communities respond to climate change.

Through the Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (ECRICC) initiative, implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with support from UNDP India and the Green Climate Fund – work on India’s coastlines is guided by a single conviction: when communities, especially women, are supported to restore and work with nature, they become some of the country’s strongest responders to climate change.

Odisha | Farming Through Uncertainty

Woman wearing a red headscarf standing in a golden grain field, face blurred. — Swarnalata Jena in her paddy field in Thakurbhauri village, Balasore district, Odisha

In Thakurbhauri village in Odisha’s Balasore district, farming has always depended on the moods of the monsoon. The village, surrounded by paddy fields and vulnerable to cyclones and flooding, has long lived with uncertainty. Some years brought heavy rain that submerged crops. Others left fields dry and unproductive. For most families, paddy farming was a means of survival, not income. For 49-year-old farmer Swarnalata Jena, that uncertainty defined life for years.

“Some years, we barely had enough paddy to eat. There was no money left for anything else,” she recalls.

That began to change in 2024 when Swarnalata attended a training programme supported under ECRICC. She was introduced to the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) - a climate-resilient method designed to produce higher yields using less water, fewer seeds, and reduced chemical inputs. Guided by local climate champion Kabita Jena, she learned new techniques: raising treated seedbeds, transplanting younger seedlings with wider spacing, improving water management, and using organic pest-control formulations such as Nimastra and Brahamastra. She also carried out mechanical weeding three times at ten-day intervals.

The changes were visible within weeks. In the 2024–25 Kharif season, Swarnalata cultivated one acre under SRI and harvested 28.59 quintals - sharply up from the 16–18 quintals she typically produced through conventional farming. After setting aside grain for household consumption, she sold the remaining produce at the local mandi, earning Rs. 74,400 at the Minimum Support Price.

For the first time, paddy cultivation became more than food security. It became a reliable source of income.

Swarnalata’s story reflects a larger transition already underway across Odisha’s coastline. Under ECRICC, more than 28,000 farmers across the coastal districts of Balasore, Kendrapara, Ganjam, and Puri are adopting SRI and other climate-resilient agricultural practices.

“Earlier, we cultivated paddy only for food, not for income. Now I see farming as a livelihood that can sustain my family. SRI has changed our lives. It gives us both food and income, and the soil feels healthier than before,” Swarnalata says.

Maharashtra | Restoring the Shore

Manisha Gharat (in the centre), leading the Mangrove awareness rally held in Gavhan for the Commemoration of 2025 Internation Day for the Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystem. Gavhan MCMC actively holds awareness generation activities including community dialogues, clean-up drives to keep local community aware.

Abhishek Gijare/UNDP India

Behind Gavhan village, 30 kilometres from Mumbai, mangrove roots hold the wet earth against the pull of the tide. For Manisha Gharat, they were never just trees. When she moved here after marriage 24 years ago, the mangroves shaped daily life for the Agris and Kolis, traditional coastal communities of Maharashtra whose homes, farms and food were tied to this shore.

“Mangroves were an essential part of my daily life. They used to be called the protectors of the village as they shielded against waves and storms, but also protected rice farms from the inflow of salt water. We often used to visit the shoreline to forage for crabs, clams and mudskipper for meals,” she remembers.

Known as a community organiser and local entrepreneur, Manisha, fondly called Manisha Tai, stepped into a new leadership role as President of Gavhan’s Mangrove Co-management Committee (MCMC), formed under the ECRICC project. The committees bring together community members and the forest department to support conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems, while helping local residents take up climate-resilient livelihoods such as crab farming and fish value-added products.

“MCMCs are envisioned to be collaborative eco-governance model where the community representatives and the forest department will work together for the integration of ecosystem-based adaptation approaches for the coastal regions. Traditionally, livelihoods of coastal communities rely on mangrove ecosystem, hence conservation approach should focus on the community-based management”, says Dr Ravikiran Govekar, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mangrove Cell, Mumbai who is ex-officio State Project Director of ECRICC in Maharashtra.

In Gavhan alone, 14 livelihood units have been established. Of the 104 residents now adopting new livelihood activities, 76 are women. Across Maharashtra, 131 such committees have been formed across four coastal districts, supporting 558 livelihood units and reflecting a shift towards more community-led approaches to coastal governance and resilience.

“MCMC is a strong community institution where men and women work together. It has the ability to reach and engage the entire village. What I admire most about its members is their determination and commitment, which continue to inspire me. In the years ahead, I hope to lead more initiatives that empower communities and strengthen our efforts to conserve and protect mangroves,” says Manisha.

Andhra Pradesh | When the Sea Becomes a Farm

Ramalakshmi (left) with fellow community members at Budagatlapalem village, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh

In the coastal village of Budagatlapalem in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, Ramalakshmi’s life was for years defined by marine fish vending and dry fish processing -livelihoods shaped by uncertain catches, seasonal income, and the changing moods of the sea.

Married at 19 and responsible for a family of four, she had worked hard her whole life. What she lacked was stability.

That changed in 2025, when the ECRICC project, in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and with technical support from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), introduced seaweed cultivation in the village as a climate-resilient livelihood option.

Ramalakshmi was among the first to volunteer. She enrolled in training sessions covering marine ecology and raft construction, then installed 10 rafts in the sea with support from her husband and fellow Self-Help Group (SHG) members.

Forty-five days later, the first harvest arrived.

“Within just 45 days, the first harvest was complete, and it changed everything. I motivated others to join, transforming an individual initiative into a community-driven coastal enterprise where we are finally growing our own future,” Ramalakshmi says.

Buoyed by early success, Ramalakshmi’s group scaled rapidly, from 10 to 50 rafts, with financial support from the GCF and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

What began as an individual experiment has grown into a community-led coastal enterprise, with the community now exploring formal market linkages, branding and packaging to scale its output further.

“Ramalakshmi’s journey illustrates the power of technical convergence; by bridging the gap between scientific research and community action, we have created a scalable model for coastal resilience that empowers women to become entrepreneurs,” says K. Ravi Kumar, Fisheries Development Officer, Etcherla Mandal, Srikakulam district.