Recent coastal disasters, and the presence of 2.3 billion people (forecast to grow to 3.2 billion by 2025) living within 100 km of the coast, have made “sustainable” coastal management an urgent issue worldwide. The sustainability of existing and newly outlined coastal policies is under intense debate in India. The controversy centers on the proposed replacement of the 1991 Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ) with a new regulation, entitled Coastal Zone Management Notification (CZM).