Four sites identified for mangrove conservation

The National Environment Policy (NEP) has identified four coastal sites (from Karwar to Mangalore) in Karnataka for mangrove conservation.

Addressing the national workshop on 'Mangroves in India: Biodiversity, Protection and Environment', here on Thursday, J R Bhatt, Director, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), said, "The NEP-2006 calls for mainstreaming sustainable management of mangroves into the forestry sector regulatory regime, ensuring that they continue to provide livelihood to local communities."

In Karnataka, mangrove forests stretch along the west coast from Karwar bay in the north to Netravathi estuary in south. Here, mangroves are narrow and steep at places due to the Western Ghats.

"As a result, mangrove ecosystems of the west coast are small in size, less diverse and less complicated in terms of tidal creek network," he added.

India has 2.66 per cent of the world's mangroves, covering an estimated area of 4,827 square km.

Of the total area under the mangroves in the country, about 57 per cent are found on the east coast, 23 per cent on the west coast and remaining 20 per cent are on the Bay Islands (Andaman and Nicobar).

The entire Indian coast was rich in mangrove vegetation till the recent past. Mangroves are still found in the Sunderbans (West Bengal), the delta of the Mahanadi in the Bhitarkanika area (Orissa), the Krishna and Godavari delta in Andhra Pradesh, fringing coast in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, on the coral reefs and fringing the mainland in the Gulf of Kutch and the delta of Kori Creek in Gujarat coast and Pichavaram-Vedaranyam of the Tamil Nadu coast.

"Compared to the estimate (6,470 square km) of mangrove spread in the late '80s, the present estimate of 4,827 square km show that mangroves are fast depleting in the country. They are destroyed for fuel, fodder and conversion for agricultural, aquacultural and industrial purposes," said Bhatt.

He said about 415 square kms of mangroves have been added in the country in the last 15 years through conservation. "Now conservation of mangroves has taken priority especially after it was found that mangroves can counter tsunami," said Suresh Gairola, director, Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bangalore.

Bhatt said, "While mangrove forests have specific ecological role in the coastal ecosystem, they provide a life support system and income for millions of people. Mangroves are facing an overdose of chemical fertiliser and pesticides which not only destroy the aquaculture farms but are also detrimental to the surviving mangrove ecosystems."