Coastal warriors: City expert highlights how mangroves protect Mumbai's waterfronts

Mangroves in Marambal Pada, Virar. Pics credit/Sheetal Pachpande

Did you know that according to the Indian State of Forest Report, Maharashtra has a mangrove cover of 324 square kilometers? Or that there are over 20 species that are termed as ‘true mangroves' along the city's coastline? UNSECO recognises July 26 as Mangrove Ecosystem Conservation Day but information about these precious natural resources is unknown to the average person, including their contribution to the wellbeing, food security and protection of coastal communities that act as defence against tsunamis, erosion, and storms.

Soil erosion due to excessive sand mining

Sheetal Pachpande, deputy director of projects at Mangrove Foundation, explains that mangroves can thrive in various types of habitat, but the intertidal zone, where the river and sea merge, is more favourable for their growth. She explains that India's East Coast is a deltaic region as rivers such as the Ganga and Brahmaputra flow into the sea along this coast. The salinity level is comparatively low, and thus it has more mangrove richness compared to the West Coast. The East Coast also has species diversity because of the change in a salinity gradient; this ensures that the number of species that grow in that particular area also changes. Only those trees that are able to tolerate the salinity, survive.

Viviparous germination in mangroves

In contrast, wherever the land breaks and meets the river on the West Coast, it forms creeks, which is where we find the mangroves. "Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, and Kerala have a high salinity level, and so Avicennia Marina is the dominant species that can tolerate the salinity presence. In Maharashtra, the Western Ghats and freshwater resources aids in causing diversity along the West Coast," she explains.

Sheetal Pachpande

She emphasises that rising sea levels, climate change, global warming, irregular rainfall and rise in flood intensity are not just mere terminologies, but the on-ground reality. "Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation will cost us heavily. We cannot stop natural calamities, but delay them by building protection walls. Only mangroves have a specialised root system that can tolerate wave action. A sturdy mangrove cover will help protect the coastal villages of Maharashtra that cover Mumbai and its suburbs, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg," she explains.

The Mangrove Foundation conducts several clean-up drives, awareness campaigns and volunteer programmes throughout the year. Reducing plastic usage is one of the best ways in which individuals can save mangroves. Pachpande feels that people in Maharashtra are becoming more conscious and that the government's protection of mangroves as reserve forests can benefit all in the long run.

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