ABSTRACT
The country has a diverse range of habitats: continental area and offshore islands and a variety of coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, lagoons, coral reefs, mangroves, salt marshes, sea grass beds, backwaters, rocky coasts, mudflats, sand dunes, and coastal beaches. The coastal ecosystem consists of 43,230 km of coastal wetlands with 97 major estuaries and 34 major lagoons; 4921 km of mangroves with 31 mangrove areas, and 3062.97 km of coral reefs with 5 coral reef areas. The country is rich in marine and coastal biodiversity, and this is due to habitat diversity which includes almost all types of intertidal habitats, from hypersaline and brackish lagoons, estuaries, and coastal marsh and mud flats, to sandy and rocky shores. The coastal ecosystems are extremely important assets, as they provide a wide range of ecosystem goods and services. India is strong in policy and legal frame work in conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity.
