Environmental Information System [ENVIS] Center on Coastal Zone Management [COZMA]
Realizing the importance of Environmental Information, the Government of India, in December 1982, established an Environmental Information System [ENVIS] as a plan programme. The focus of ENVIS since inception has been on providing environmental information to decision makers, policy planners, scientists and engineers, research workers, etc. all over the country.

Since environment is a broad-ranging, multi-disciplinary subject, a comprehensive information system on environment would necessarily involve effective participation of concerned institutions/ organizations in the country that are actively engaged in work relating to different subject areas of environment. ENVIS has, therefore, developed itself with a network of such participating institutions/organizations for the programme to be meaningful. A large number of nodes, known as ENVIS Centres, have been established in the network to cover the broad subject areas of environment with a Focal Point in the Ministry of Environment & Forests.

The ENVIS Center for Coastal Zone Management [COZMA] and Coastal Shelter Belt has been established at the Institute for Ocean Management, Anna University by the Ministry for Environment and Forests. The focus of this ENVIS-COZMA is to collect, collate and disseminate information relevant to the Coastal Zone Management aspects.

Objectives of COZMA: 

• Provide fundamental information on coastal management
• Maintain and periodically update the information center on Coastal Zone Management
• Apply the modern technologies of acquisition processing, storage and retrieval of Coastal Zone Management topics to support and promote research and development towards sustainable Integrated Coastal Zone Management planning.
• Promote national and international cooperation and liaison in exchange of knowledge based on coastal and island management
• Conduct educational activities and to provide educational resources that encourage the responsible use and conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems
• Publication of ENVIS newsletters for dissemination of information on Coastal Zone