At a time when countries around the world have recognised the value of mangroves as a tool to arrest global warming by sequestering carbon, the Government’s move for expansion of the Paradip Port and other developmental activities under the much-touted Central scheme Sagarmala has drawn flak not only from environmentalists and climatologists but from the coastal community, including fisher folk.
Environmentalists say while the lifesaving cover across the shoreline has already under severe stress due to destruction in the name of development, the multi-billion-crore project would only add to the stress level and cause serious damage to the coastal ecosystems. The cleansing of mangroves from vast swathes of land has wider ecological consequences too.
Most of the coastal community members who are survivors of the 1999
Super Cyclone are well aware of the life saver species and are engaged in creation of new mangrove forests and regenerate the degraded forest. They observed that the places with mangrove cover suffer less damage to life and property, whereas the places where the cover was destroyed suffered heavy damage. They oppose the developmental projects as they would affect the species and the overall coastal ecosystem.
Opposing the Sagarmala project which aims at construction of shipping corridor at 20 nautical miles close to territorial waters, Odisha Traditional Fish Workers’ Union (OTFWU) general secretary K
Alleya during a Press meet recently said the project would destroy the marine ecosystem of the locality. It would damage the environment of coastal belts and affect the livelihood of lakhs of fishermen in the State. Fishermen will not be able to fish in the deep sea once the project is complete, he added.
Nuagaon village under Kandira panchayat of Rajnagar block in Kendrapada district is one of the villages where the inhabitants have developed mangrove forests on over acres of land. Each of the 40 households of the village gave away their unused private land for the creation of mangroves along the coast. Now the trees and shrubs have reached the height of about 7-8 feet. Villagers guard the plantation site on turn basis to protect the trees.
Biraja Prasad Pati, a social activist, who is instrumental in mobilising the villagers of Nuagaon to create mangroves, expressed deep concern over the destruction of mangrove ecosystem in the name of development projects and human intervention. He said apart from working as a cyclone resistant, mangrove offers livelihood opportunities to many and provide firewood, food, fodder, clean water and raw materials for housing.
“The plantation site at Nuagaon now houses more than 35 bird species, including migratory birds. Different types of snakes, fishes, shrimps and crabs are also sighted there. This mangrove patch has played a role in checking the cases of human-crocodile conflict by offering shelter to the reptiles that often stray into the village from river Hansua,” added Biraja.
There are several villages in the district which have planted the species and are nurturing them for years. Assistant Conservator of Forests, Mahakalpara Range, Bijay Kumar Parida maintained that apart from developmental projects, encroachment by the villagers (for homestead and agriculture land) and setting up of prawn gheries cause massive damage to the mangroves and the coastal ecosystems. The Forest Department is taking measures for the eviction of encroached land and to enhance mangrove cover. It is satisfying that several villages have taken up initiatives to create and regenerate mangroves and the Government-sponsored eco-development committees work brilliantly to promote the endeavour, he added.
“Paradip was once a mangrove swamp, used largely by locals for hunting, fishing and firewood. But a major part of that cover was cleared for establishment of the port in the 1960s. Soon after, the impact of destruction was felt. Though the State was hit by cyclones and storms earlier, it was severe in 1967, a couple of years after perishing of cyclone resistant species,” said a local scribe.
He flayed the shortsightedness of the authorities involved in the port expansion project under Sagarmala. He also came down heavily on the coastal highway plan that has been finalised without proper study to assess the ecological impact.
Prasad K Dash, a botanist of Odisha Biodiversity Board, said, “The intricate network of mangrove roots help reducing the intensity of high tidal waves. Besides, mangroves have a mechanism of multiple channels; so, when tidal waves with high intensity ingress into mangroves, they get distributed into several routes. This reduces the rate of soil erosion and offers shields to the coastal communities against tidal waves. It also checks the wind velocity thwarting the effect of tropical storms.
He further said nature has a three-layered mechanism to reduce sea rise and storm. The first line of defence is Psammophytes, which reduce the velocity of tidal waves on the sand-dunes along the coast. Second line of defence is casuarinas and then comes mangroves, which spread up to a distance till which the tidal waves can reach and, thus, protect the ainland from sea erosion.
Pointing out to the rich diversity of mangroves in Odisha, he said, “The State is often referred to as a biological paradise for mangroves. Large brackish water bodies and complex network of tidal creeks and canals feature the mangrove wetlands of Odisha. Though in the country, the Sunderbans has large area – about 2,700 sqkm – it has only 52 varieties of the species, whereas Odisha has only 219 sqkm of the unique forest, but the species diversity is 62, he told.
Mangroves form the foundation of a highly productive and biologically rich ecosystem which provides a home and feeding ground for a wide range of species of planktons, snails, fishes, shrimps, seashells and even insects, many of which are endangered. The shallow waters of the Bay of Bengal, existence of multiple deltas and river mouths form a conducive atmosphere for the growth of mangroves, the botanist explained.
The places where fresh water intrusion is regular are conducive for mangrove growth. Emphasising on the natural regeneration of the species, the botanist said it is important to identify sites where mangroves can grow naturally and initiate steps to promote the growth there.
Talking about mangroves in mitigating the impact of climate change, water and climate expert Ranjan Panda said, “Mangroves help us in both mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts. However, our planners still don’t pay them the due importance they deserve.”
“Our climate actions have been too artificial ‘sea wall’ centric while in reality the natural solutions are cost effective and sustainable. They come with multiple values for the communities and ecology. It’s time the Government came forward to preserve and restore the mangrove ecosystems. Any further delay would not only mean huge loss of livelihood of a large number of coastal communities, but also make us more vulnerable to devastations caused by the increasing number of cyclones caused due to climate change,” Panda added.
Apart from acting as a natural barrier to check the impact of sea rise and tidal waves, mangroves play a significant role in absorbing the toxic carbon responsible for global warming, Panda maintained. Referring to a study report he added that mangroves sequester about 1,000 tonnes of carbon per hectare for over thousands of years. Such carbon sinks are called the blue carbon ecosystems. Degraded blue carbon ecosystems can shift from being a carbon sink to a carbon source. That means the chopped off mangroves can release the carbon dioxide (CO2) back to the atmosphere causing more climate change, Panda told.
It is estimated that the world may lose all its vital mangrove ecosystems in just a century’s time if the current rate of degradation continues, he warned.