Mangroves: Our Guardians of the Coast

Created in 1948

• World's first & largest global conservation

organization,

• Over 1,200 member organizations in >150

countries including 200+ government and

800+ non-government organizations,

• Over 11,000 voluntary scientists and

experts, grouped under Six Commissions,

• Secretariat, HQs in Switzerland, with

offices worldwide,

• Funded by governments, bilateral and

multilateral agencies, foundations, member

organizations and corporations,

• Official Observer Status at the United

Nations General Assembly.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature

VisionA just world that values and conserves nature

The International Union for Conservation of Nature

MissionTo influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable andecologically sustainable

Introduction to Mangroves

A mangrove is a tree, shrub, palm or ground fern, generally exceeding one half metre in height, that normally grows above mean sea level in the intertidal zone of marine coastal environments and estuarine margins.

The physical environment of a mangrove ecosystem includes

• waterways (estuaries, creeks, canals, lagoons, and back waters),

• mudflats,

• Salt pans,

• Islands

And is often highly saline and frequently inundated by the tidal action.

Interactions in

coastal

ecosystems

showing the

connections

between

mangroves, sea-

grass beds and

coral reefs

Ecosystem Services of Mangrove

Forests

• Provisioning (e.g., timber, fuel wood, and charcoal),

• Regulating (e.g., flood, storm and erosion control; prevention of salt water intrusion),

• Habitat (e.g., breeding, spawning and nursery habitat for commercial fish species; biodiversity), and

• Cultural services (e.g., recreation, aesthetic, non-use)Source: TEEB, 2010

Products, services and functions

Mangrove ecosystemsShoreline stabilization

Storm protection

Water quality

Micro-climate stabilization

Groundwater recharge and discharge

Flood and flow control

Sediment and nutrient retention

Habitat protection and biodiversity

Biomass, productivity and resilience

Gene bank

Recreation, tourism and culture

Hunting and fishing

Forestry products

Water transport

Source: Baan (1997)

Mangroves1 provide a number valuable ecosystem services that contribute

to human wellbeing, including

Mangroves in India

• Mangroves in India cover an area of 4,628 km2 (0.14% of India’s

geographical area)

• This accounts for approx. 3% of the world’s mangrove vegetation

• West Bengal has the highest cover (2,155 km2), followed by Gujarat

(1,058 km2) and Andhra Pradesh (352 km2)

• The Sundarbans, spanning across West Bengal and Bangladesh, is

the largest contiguous block of mangroves in the world

• Threats to mangroves in India include deforestation and degradation

due to rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, pollution, reduction in

fresh water flows, and reclamation of land for other uses.

• Change in total mangrove cover over time, in India:

Year 1987 1995 2003 2013

Cover

(km2)4046 4533 4448 4628

Distribution of Mangroves in India

Source : Chellamani et al, Assessment of the health status of Indian mangrove

ecosystems using multi temporal remote sensing data Tropical Ecology 55(2): 245-253, 2014

Key Mangrove areas in India

Mangrove Cover Assessment in

States/UTs

(Area in sq.km)

Source: India’s State of Forest Report, 2013

Mangrove Cover Assessment2013

(Area in sq.km)

Source: India’s State of Forest Report, 2013

• Area under mangroves in 2013 assessment shows a net

decrease of 34 sq km over 2011 figure of 4663 Sq km

• Very dense mangrove cover is 29.2% of total

• Moderately dense mangroves is 31.49 %

• Open mangroves constitute 39.3 %

• State wise Very dense mangroves are found in West Bengal, A&N Islands and Odisha

• Gujarat is the only state to have shown an increase in mangrove cover

Potential restoration sites:

Districts showing loss in mangrove cover

• Bhavnagar, Gujarat

• Kendrapara, Odisha

• Medinipur and South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

• Andaman, A&N Islands

States with more open mangroves

• Kerala

• Karnataka

• Goa

Mangrove Species status

• IUCN categories

CR= Critically endangered, EN=Endangered, VU= Vulnerable, LR= Lower risk;

• Occurence

a= Abundant (81-100%), f=Frequent(61-80%), c=Common (31-60%), r= Rare (1-30%), — Not present

• Coastal States/UTs

WB=West Bengal, O=Odisha, AP=Andhra Pradesh, TN=Tamil Nadu, A&N=Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Gu=Gujarat,

G=Goa M=Maharashtra,KAR=Karnataka, K=Kerala

Mangrove Species Status

• 69 species- 39 true mangrove species and 30 associate

species

• Highest diversity in Odisha of 60 species

• 11 species Critically Endangered, 15 species

Endangered, 11 species Vulnerable

• Only 2 species are Lower Risk

• 10 out of 39 species have very restricted distribution

• Of the 11 globally threatened mangroves, two species

are found in India, viz., Sonneratia griffithii and Heritierafomes

Threats to Mangroves

Ecosystem Services of Mangrove-

Some valuations

• The total economic value of Gujarat mangroves is pegged at USD

498.54 million ha./year and North Malabar at USD 10,960 per

ha./year.

• The recreation value of the Indian Sunderbans is estimated at USD

3,77,000 per year.

• The storm protection value of Kendrappa mangrove forests in

Odisha was calculated at USD 79,504 per km width of the forest

during the super cyclone of 1999.

• It is estimated that the Indian Sunderbans absorb more than 41.5

million tonnes carbon dioxide daily

Mangrove Health

Mean percentage of mangrove health class for 10 years (1999 - 2008)

for each state/UT

Source : Chellamani et al, Assessment of the health status of Indian mangrove

ecosystems using multi temporal remote sensing data Tropical Ecology 55(2): 245-253

Mangroves for the FutureSpecial meeting on MFF Gender Advisory Panel; 27 August 2014

Mangroves for the FutureStrengthening resilience of ecosystem-dependent coastal communities

Local fishers along the Chumphon river © MFF Thailand

The Beginning: “Build Back Better”

.

In 2006, after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, IUCN, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

developed the initiative,

Mangroves for the Future (MFF)

with the vision that natural infrastructure and

strengthening resilience can protect against

future natural disasters.

Since then, MFF has grown to include eight

institutional partners, plus 11 countries. US President Bill Clinton,

UN Special Envoy for Tsunami

Recovery, acclaimed MFF as one of the

most responsive initiatives of the post-

tsunami period.

Mangroves for the Future:

Vision and Goal

Healthy coastal ecosystems for a more prosperous and secure future for all coastal communities

Resilience of ecosystem dependant coastal communities strengthened

Mangroves are a flagship

ecosystem, but MFF is inclusive of

all coastal ecosystems

Coral reefsEstuariesSeagrass Sand dunes

Where MFF works

(geographical scope and countries)

Members: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam

Outreach: Malaysia

Dialogue: Kenya and Tanzania

MFF is co-chaired by IUCN and UNDP, and is funded by Danida, Norad and Sida.

EXAMPLES OF MFF IN INDIA

MFF work with mangroves

Restoration and Rehabilitation

• Over 50 acres of mangrove forest

restored through community-led

sustainable management and

conservation in Odisha, Gujarat and

Tamil Nadu.

• Over 1800 local community members

trained in mangrove restoration

techniques

• Ecological assessments of mangrove

communities conducted for State

Forest Dep. in Ratnagiri

(Maharashtra), Bhitarkanika (Odisha)

and the Sundarbans (West Bengal)

MFF work with mangroves

Livelihoods

• 210 men, & women from SHGs in Sundarbans trained in

integrated mangrove fish-farming systems; 50kg of fish is

yielding INR 7,500

• Integrated mangrove-fishery farming systems developed for

15 marginalised & landless families from the Yenadi tribe in

Andhra Pradesh.

MFF work with mangroves

Governance

• A corporate-community model

for mangrove restoration in

the Gulf of Kachchh is being

piloted

• Village Mangrove Councils

established in Odisha under

local Panchyats, for

community-based

management of mangroves

• Conducted regional

colloquium for sharing lessons

on scientifically-sound

mangrove restoration

India small grant project:

Integrated Mangrove Fishery Farming Systems

(IMFFS)

• MFF designed a brackish

water and mangrove-based

farming system

• Fed by tidal water, making

pumps unnecessary

• High mangrove survival rate

(92%) , high survival rate of

sea bass fingerlings (60%)

• Aquaculture Authority of India

exploring possibility of eco-

labeling IMFFS products

Information resources across countries

Sharing our work online:

Read more projects from MFF Website

www.mangrovesforthefuture.org

• Collaborative content

management with countries

• Quick glance at MFF Grant

Facilities

• Easy access to MFF

publications, images and

videos

• Social Media integrated

THANK YOU