Introduction
Mangroves are specialized, salt-tolerant plant communities (halophytes) flourishing in tropical and subtropical intertidal zones. According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021, India's mangrove cover spans 4,992 sq. km, accounting for about 0.15% of the total geographic area. These fragile ecosystems function as dynamic ecotones linking terrestrial and marine biomes.
Ecological and Economic Significance of Mangroves
Mangroves provide vital ecosystem services that safeguard coastal geographies and anchor local economies:
- Coastal Bio-shields: Dense stilt root systems and pneumatophores dissipate kinetic wave energy from cyclones, storm surges, and tsunamis, while trapping suspended sediments to curb coastal shoreline erosion.
- Blue Carbon Sinks: Mangroves sequester carbon at rates four to five times faster than temperate terrestrial forests, storing massive amounts of organic carbon in their deep, anaerobic sediments and mitigating microclimate extremes.
- Ecosystem Nurseries and Marine Habitats: The complex root architecture provides sheltered breeding, spawning, and nursery grounds for commercially valuable fish, crabs, and prawns.
- Economic Livelihoods: Coastal communities rely directly on mangrove wetlands for artisanal fisheries, sustainable aquaculture, and non-timber forest produce such as honey, wax, and medicinal tannins.
- Ecotourism and Recreation: Pristine mangrove deltas, like the Sundarbans and Bhitarkanika, drive sustainable tourism, wildlife conservation, and education-oriented local revenues.
Factors Behind the Alarming Loss of Mangrove Cover in India
Despite their critical functions, mangrove ecosystems across Indian shorelines face severe degradation due to multiple compounding pressures:
- Aquaculture Expansion: Extensive conversion of intertidal mudflats into intensive commercial shrimp farms and pisciculture enclosures has caused irreversible habitat destruction and soil salinisation.
- Urbanisation and Infrastructure: Coastal city expansion, highway corridors, port modernisations, and the establishment of salt pans violate Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) mandates and fragment contiguous mangrove strips (e.g., around Mumbai and the Gulf of Khambhat).
- Hydrological Alterations: Upstream damming, barrages, and excessive river water diversion drastically reduce freshwater and silt discharge into estuarine deltas, causing acute hypersaline conditions fatal to mangrove seedlings.
- Pollution and Effluents: Discharge of untreated industrial effluents, plastic debris, thermal plant cooling water, and domestic sewage suffocates aerial respiratory roots (pneumatophores).
- Climate Change and Coastal Squeeze: Accelerating sea-level rise causes landward migration barriers due to hard seawalls and coastal infrastructure—a phenomenon termed 'coastal squeeze'—compounded by frequent intense cyclonic disruptions.
Conclusion
Preserving and expanding mangrove cover is vital for coastal climate resilience and disaster risk reduction. Effective implementation of the MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes) scheme, integration of Blue Carbon financing mechanisms, and community-led participatory management are indispensable to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 14 (Life Below Water) and 15 (Life on Land).