A mangrove shield for Sundarbans

Subject :Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Sundarbans:

Sundarbans are a complex network of islands set in the delta on the Bay of Bengal and spread across West Bengal and Bangladesh.
It is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal.
Sundarban Reserve Forest (SRF) of Bangladesh is the largest mangrove forest in the world.
It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh’s division of Khulna to the Hooghly River in India’s state of West Bengal. It comprises closed and open mangrove forests, land used for agricultural purpose, mudflats and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels. Sundarbans is home to the world’s largest area of mangrove forests.[
Chargheri is the last village on the south-eastern side of the Indian Sundarbans. Garal river passes through it.
The 4.5 million inhabitants of these islands are constantly affected by storms, floods, cyclones, land subsidence and coastal erosion. Saltwater intrusion into freshwater sources and agricultural land has rendered the soil unfit for crops, affected mangrove integrity, resulted in higher temperatures, altered salinity levels and led to habitat loss.

Significance of mangroves in Sundarbans:

Mangroves help arrest soil erosion from rising tides, besides easing wind and water force during a cyclone. They also remove 10 times more carbon from the air because they transfer it to the soil.
They are estimated to save over $65 billion in property damage globally. A village embankment with a mangrove cover is said to be safer from damage than one without.
Mangrove forests are nurseries for shrimps and several kinds of fishes.

Blue Carbon:

Blue carbon is the carbon captured by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems.
Blue carbon stocks can be increased by planting mangroves in mudflat areas.
Among all the natural systems, after seagrass, mangroves are the most efficient carbon-trapping systems.
Mangroves capture the carbon and transfer it to the soil, where it stays unaffected even if the tree is destroyed.

Has COP taken note of mangrove conservation?

Anthropological activities are harming mangroves the most.
In 2022, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) was launched at COP27 to promote them as a nature-based solution to climate change.
Besides encouraging plantation efforts, member nations are expected to enhance the protection of mangroves through scientific, social, and economic studies, and encourage philanthropy.

Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) Programme:

It will be taken up for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands, wherever feasible, through convergence between MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund and other sources.
It envisages comprehensively exploring the possible area for the development of Mangroves covering approximately 540 Sq. Kms. spreading across 11 States and 2 Union Territories during five years commencing FY 2023-24 onwards.

Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC):

The UAE and Indonesia launched the “Mangrove Alliance for Climate” on the sidelines of the UN climate summit COP27, being held in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.
As part of this alliance, an international mangrove research centre will be established in Indonesia which will conduct studies on mangrove ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and ecotourism.
Aim:
- To strengthen conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems worldwide.
- The alliance will raise awareness about the role of mangroves as a “nature-based solution to climate change”.
Partners:
- Spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in partnership with Indonesia
- India, Australia, Japan, Spain and Sri Lanka have joined it as partners.