Mangroves are to land what oxygen is to life. They play a vital role in maintaining an important balance in the ecosystems between land and sea, and, for this reason, the world should take note of their precariously balanced state of existence this World Mangrove Day.
Mangroves are important for the very existence of coastal communities, as they help minimise soil erosion and act as natural barriers against storms, thereby minimising the effect of storms on human settlements. The other important use of mangroves is that they help reduce the carbon footprint of human activity by absorbing carbon in their roots.
Dr Anjali Acharya, Managing Director of Nature Conservancy India Solutions says, “It is not just the mangroves themselves, but it is also the ecosystems that they harbour and the livelihoods and the people that depend on those ecosystems.”
Despite playing such an important role in our existence, mangroves themselves find their existence in danger due to the challenging climate change crisis.
According to UNESCO, “Mangroves are disappearing three to five times faster than overall global forest losses, with serious ecological and socio-economic impacts. Current estimates indicate that mangrove coverage has been divided by two in the past 40 years.”
To raise awareness of this crisis, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established 26 July as World Mangrove Day. It serves as an opportunity to make people aware of the devastating effects decreasing mangrove cover can have on our ecosystem. One can participate in mangrove planting drives if living anywhere near coastal regions, as well as attend seminars highlighting the importance of these natural wonders.
Mangroves are spread over 123 nations, and India happens to have the largest contiguous mangrove forest in West Bengal, known as the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans National Park was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1987. The Forest Survey of India reported India’s mangrove cover at 4,992 square kilometres in 2021, which is about 0.15% of India’s total landmass.
Apart from the Sunderbans, the other key mangrove ecosystems in the country are Bhitarkanika in Odisha and the Godavari-Krishna mangroves.
Fight against Climate Change
Mangroves can be one of the most potent natural weapons against climate change due to their natural ability to sequester higher amounts of carbon from the atmosphere as compared to a terrestrial forest. At the same time, they protect land against flooding and land erosion. They are essential for the survival of coastal countries which are suffering from rising sea levels.
Threats to Mangrove Habitats
There are multiple threats looming over the existence of mangroves, like rising global sea levels, which are eating into the mangrove habitats, mostly in low-lying coastal areas. Another major threat is the frequent and increased intensity of storms, which is being caused by climate change. It causes considerable damage to the mangroves and further leads to rehabilitation of the human settlements.Experts point out human activities, like the construction of dams, agriculture and aquaculture activities as well as using mangrove wood for construction and fuel, have considerably reduced mangrove cover.
What Can We Do at Individual Level?
One does not necessarily have to live near the coastal regions to contribute to the cause of saving mangroves. There are a number of steps you can take at individual level, like saying no to single-use plastic, prioritise travel to places where sustainable development and tourism is encouraged.The Government of India is actively working to protect the mangroves. In the Union Budget 2023-24, it announced “Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI)” to promote and conserve mangroves as a unique, natural ecosystem, having very high biological productivity and carbon sequestration potential, besides working as a bio shield.
Apart from this, awareness campaigns are being run to educate citizens. Surveillance via drones and AI is being done to detect any illegal activities in the mangrove regions. Acharya says, “It is really important to engage local communities and the youth, who are our future. We need to get them engaged in both mangrove restoration and protection efforts through education, capacity building, and employment opportunities.
Additionally, she says, “Environmental education programmes in schools and communities can raise their level of awareness. You can train the youth, and additionally, start to create a pipeline of green jobs.”
It is these positive steps taken by the government that have, in fact, helped in increasing the total mangrove coverage in the country.
