PEOPLE AND THEIR PROBLEMS
New Delhi, 5 November 2005
Joint Management
Programme
NEED TO PRESERVE
MANGROVE FORESTS
By Radhakrishna Rao
The deadly and destructive Tsunami waves of December last,
which battered many of the coastal settlements along the Bay
of Bengal, could hardly cause any damage in areas such as Point
Calimere, Muthupettai and Pitchavaram in Tamil Nadu on account of the dense and
luxuriant mangrove forest cover. It is not for nothing that Dr. M.S. Swaminathan,
Chairman of the Chennai-based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has
all along been strongly advocating the need to preserve rich mangroves which
grow in abundance in brackish wetlands between the land and the sea where other
types of vegetation cannot survive.
In fact, they protect the coastline and prevent erosion by
collecting sediments from the rivers and streams and slowing down the flow of
water. The widespread tidal storms that
devastate the low-lying areas of Bangladesh, causing widespread death and destruction each year is
traced to the wholesale destruction of mangrove forests, which act as a natural
buffer against strong winds and waves produced by cyclones.
Incidentally, Tamil Nadu has the second-largest mangrove
cover after the famous Sunderbans in West Bengal. With a view to restore the degraded mangroves
to their original condition, the Forest Department of Tamil Nadu has joined
hands with the MSSRF for the implementation of the Joint Mangrove Management
Programme, with the active participation of the local community.
A recent study by the Nilgiris-based Wildlife Protection
Group points out that the dense growth of the mangrove cover came to the rescue
of animals including the highly endangered black buck and wild boars at Point
Calimere wildlife sanctuary on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
According to A.D. Barurah, warden of the sanctuary, the
thick evergreen mangrove forests in Point Calimere and nearby Muthupettai
lagoon helped neutralize the impact of deadly Tsunami waves. It is a well-known
fact the ecologically significant and biologically diverse mangrove forests are
a good neutralizer of marine contamination and serve as a natural habitat for a
variety of flora and fauna.
However, as in other parts of the world, in India too,
mangrove forests have become most threatened habitats. "Mangroves have
been destroyed as a result of human activities.
The roots of mangrove plants stabilize the sand and mud. Wherever mangroves are removed for developmental
purposes, the coastline gets subjected to rapid erosion", says N.J. James,
Habitat Science Teaching Community, Trichur in Kerala. Marine biologists point
out that a number of organisms like fish, shrimp, prawn and other fauna spend
entire or part of their life cycle in the mangrove eco system. Pictures of the Indian mangroves taken by
earth observation satellites point out to the rapid thinning out of their
density.
The major mangrove pockets in India are found along the eastern
coast where the tidal amplitude is quiet prominent. The thick-wooded Sunderbans
famous for their Royal Bengal Tiger form the single-largest patch of mangrove
forest with a spread of 4262 sq. km. The Sunderbans in the Ganga-Brahmaputra
delta is the only mangroves stretch inhabited by tigers. A vital component of the marine eco system,
mangroves serve as the main nursery of shrimps along the coastal stretch.
Mangrove wetlands also provide to the local community, timber as well as non-wood
products such as fodder, honey and wax.
In Thailand,
milk fish and shrimp catch from intensely managed mangroves have gone up substantially
following the implementation of a conservation strategy and sustainable
exploitation of the resources. In
countries such as Australia
and the Philippines
where mangrove conservation has official backing some progress has been made in
regulating their exploitation through various means, including the issue of
licences and permits.
Unfortunately, in India there is no stringent and
uniform law covering the exploitation and management of mangrove forests. Not
long ago, mangroves used to be treated as a part of the wasteland between land
and sea. According to marine biologists, the major causative factor for the
rapid disappearance of mangrove forests include indiscriminate tree felling for
fuel, fodder and timber and their thoughtless conversion into aqua-cultural
ponds along with a lack of interest in developing them.
The mangroves in the delta of Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna
as well as Saurashtra and Kutch are all facing
a serious threat to their existence. A study conducted by the Botanical Survey
of India (BSI) has estimated that the total area of mangroves in Orissa is 225
sq. km. According to ecologists, 1950s witnessed a depletion of over 2,500
hectares of mangroves along the Orissa coast to make room for Paradip Port.
Similarly, over 100 sq. km of mangroves were clear felled to
make room for coconut plantations and paddy fields. The massive destruction suffered by Andaman
group of islands during Tsunami has been traced to widespread destruction of
mangrove forests in the island to make room for a variety of developmental
projects.
With a view to conserve the rich mangrove heritage of India as many as 15 mangroves’ rich areas in India have been
declared as "national biosphere reserve". These include Sunderabans
and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The best
preserved mangrove forest in India
is found at Pitchavaram in Tamil Nadu which not long back was a popular locale
for shooting Tamil films.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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