MANGROVES OF INDIA

The word "Mangrove" is considered to be a combination of the Portuguese word "Mangue" and the English word "grove". Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. The specific regions where these plants occur are termed as 'mangrove ecosystem'. These are highly productive but extremely sensitive and fragile. Besides mangroves, the ecosystem also harbours other plant and animal species.

Anthropological pressures and natural calamities are the enemies of the ecosystem. Growing industrial areas along the coastlines and discharge of domestic and industrial sewage are polluting these areas. Many studies have highlighted these problems and the conservation efforts are being considered.

Experiences have proved that the presence of mangrove ecosystems on coastline save lives and property during natural hazards such as cyclones, storm surges and erosion. These ecosystems are also well known for their economic importance. They are breeding, feeding and nursery grounds for many estuarine and marine organisms. Hence, these areas are used for captive and culture fisheries. The ecosystem has a very large unexplored potential for natural products useful for medicinal purposes and also for salt production, apiculture, fuel and fodder, etc.

The distribution of mangrove ecosystem on Indian coastlines indicates that the Sundarban mangroves occupy very large area followed by Andaman-Nicobar Islands and Gulf of Kachch in Gujarat. Rest of the mangrove ecosystems is comparatively smaller. However, good number of studies has been carried out in almost all ecosystems. Over 1600 plant and 3700 animal species have been identified from these areas.

THREATS TO MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM

The threats to the mangrove ecosystem could be broadly grouped into two: Natural and Anthropogenic. These factors may affect the system as a whole or any one entity within the system, etc. The natural threats include: Climatic changes, Cyclones and Physical processes. Diseases, deterioration, pollution, grazing, agriculture, aquaculture and human encroachment (including reclamation), etc., are considered as the anthropogenic threats to the ecosystem.

MANGROVE IN INDIA 

According to a status report of the Government of India publication, the total area of the mangroves in India, was reckoned at about 6,740 km2. This covered about 7% of the world mangroves (Krishnamurthy, 1987) and 8% of the Indian coastline (Untawale, 1987). But a recent Indian Remote Sensing Data (Nayak, 1993) showed that the total area of the mangroves decreased to 4,474 km2 (Table. 1). The values shown by satellite data shows a decrease in the mangrove area, which may be due to several reasons such as

a.     grazing by domestic cattles and exploitation of mangrove woods for fuel and timber

b.     the neo-tectonietc movement of river courses

c.  abatement of upstream freshwater discharges due to construction of dams and reservoir

d.  rapid trend of reclamation of mangrove forests for habitations

e.     pollutant discharges from cities and industries etc.

Source : http://agritech.tnau.ac.in

For more info, refer roport by Central Water Commission on Mangrove forest in India. To get this, click on following link.

http://cwc.gov.in/CPDAC/Paper_Research_Work/Paper%20Research%20Work%20.pdf