Tamil Nadu forms 20 village committees to strengthen the protection of the mangrove ecosystem

Sub: Environment

Sec: Ecosystem

Context:

The IUCN has designated mangroves in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and Maldives as ‘critically endangered’ in its first global assessment of mangrove ecosystems.

Village mangrove committee of Tamil Nadu:

To protect mangrove cover, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has formed 20 village mangrove committees.
Of the 36 geographical areas assessed globally, only South India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and the warm temperate northwestern Atlantic region have critically endangered mangroves.
The assessment in South India considered mangroves in Muthupet, Ramanathapuram, and a small part of southern Kerala.

About IUCN Assessment of mangroves forest:

First-ever global assessment.
Published: Red List of Mangrove Ecosystems
Major findings: More than half of the world’s mangroves are at risk of collapse by 2050.
- In the absence of additional conservation efforts, by 2050, about 7,065 km2(- 5%) more mangroves will be lost and 23,672 km2 (-16%) will be submerged due to sea level rise.

Mangroves:

Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone.
There are about 80 different species of mangrove trees. All of these trees grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate.
Mangrove forests only grow at tropical and subtropical latitudes near the equator because they cannot withstand freezing temperatures.
Many mangrove forests can be recognized by their dense tangle of prop roots that make the trees appear to be standing on stilts above the water. This tangle of roots allows the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides, which means that most mangroves get flooded at least twice per day.
Mangrove forests stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides.
The threats to mangroves have evolved, with past issues including wood exploitation and agriculture, now compounded by climate change, sea-level rise, and severe cyclonic storms.

Pneumatophores (or Aerial roots):

Aerial roots are roots growing above the ground.
They are often adventitious, i.e. formed from non-root tissue.
They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (Orchidaceae), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs (Ficus subg. Urostigma), the warm-temperate rainforest rata (Metrosideros robusta), and pohutukawa trees of New Zealand (Metrosideros excelsa).
Vines such as common ivy (Hedera helix) and poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) also have aerial roots.

Mangroves in Tamilnadu:

In Tamil Nadu, the mangrove area has doubled from 23 sq.km in 2001 to 45 sq.km in 2021, according to the Indian State of Forest Report.
Tamil Nadu’s mangrove degradation is less severe than in neighbouring islands, though Muthupet was heavily damaged by the Gaja Cyclone.
Mangrove restoration has been completed in about 25 sq. km across several districts in Tamil Nadu, with another 15 sq. km proposed under the World Bank-funded Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission.
The State government is emphasizing the scientific management of mangroves and involving local communities in their protection, providing them with benefits like fisheries, non-wood products, and livelihood protection against storm surges.

Mangrove forests in India:

Source: TH