{"id":39228,"date":"2025-03-17T18:24:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T12:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=39228"},"modified":"2025-03-17T18:24:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T12:54:37","slug":"mangrove-forest-cover-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-03-2025\/mangrove-forest-cover-increase","title":{"rendered":"Mangrove Forest Cover Increase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus :GS 3\/Environment&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tamil Nadu\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/mangroves\/\">mangrove <\/a>forest cover has nearly doubled from <strong>4,500 ha in 2021 to 9,039 ha in 2024, <\/strong>due to <strong>new plantations<\/strong> and <strong>preservation of existing mangroves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mangroves<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/mangroves\/\">Mangroves <\/a>are salt-tolerant plants found in <strong>tropical and subtropical intertidal regions<\/strong>, providing refuge for coastal biodiversity and acting as bio-shields against extreme climatic events.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are adapted to thrive in coastal regions with brackish water and wet, loose soil.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They have tangled prop roots that help them survive tides and capture sediments while slowing water flow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Climate Change Mitigation: <\/strong>Mangroves stabilize coastlines, reduce erosion, encourage biodiversity, and protect coastal communities from sea-level rise and natural disasters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Carbon Sinks: <\/strong>Mangroves store carbon at up to four times the rate of terrestrial forests, making them vital for achieving net zero emissions .<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ecosystem and Habitat Support: <\/strong>Mangroves support interconnected terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats, including species like Royal Bengal Tigers and river dolphins.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They capture sediments, create fertile lands, and help marine life thrive by making water clearer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Disaster Risk Reduction: <\/strong>Mangroves act as the first line of defense against tropical storms, cyclones, and hurricanes, slowing down winds and minimizing land impact.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Socio-economic Importance: <\/strong>Mangroves provide critical jobs and protein for millions of small-scale fishers worldwide\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They are also important for sustainable timber and fuelwood collection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Do you know ?<\/strong><br>&#8211; The Bay of Bengal coastline is home to<strong> India\u2019s largest mangrove forest<\/strong> with 60 per cent of its mangrove cover concentrated there because of the Sundarbans.\u00a0<br>&#8211; The<strong> Arabian Sea coast<\/strong> accounts for 27 per cent of mangrove area while the Andaman and Nicobar Islands account for 13 per cent.\u00a0<br>&#8211; The <strong>Sundarbans in West Bengal i<\/strong>s the largest mangrove region in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It spans from the Hooghly River in West Bengal to the Baleswar River in Bangladesh.<br>1. India\u2019s Sunderbans mangroves are a biodiversity hotspot, home to endangered species like the Royal Bengal Tiger, fishing cats, and macaques.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Threats\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The mangrove ecosystem faces pressures from population growth, land demand, and the need for resources like timber, fodder, fuel-wood, and fisheries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aquaculture and fisheries obstructing tidal flow are significant threats to mangrove ecosystems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Agricultural and industrial activities in Coastal Regulation Zone areas have led to mangrove destruction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>MISHTI Initiative: <\/strong>The government\u2019s MISHTI initiative, aiming for large-scale mangrove plantation,is\u00a0 implemented through the MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund, and other sources.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The MISHTI initiative aligns with India\u2019s Nationally Determined Contributions to create an additional 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent carbon sink by 2030.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mangrove Alliance for Climate :<\/strong><strong> <\/strong>\u00a0India joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate at the 27th Conference of the Parties in Egypt to address climate change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Suggestions\u00a0and Way Forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mangroves play a crucial role in global conservation efforts by storing significant amounts of carbon, helping mitigate climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mangroves are key guardians of coasts and essential for the environment and communities, making their conservation a necessary priority.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is a need to promote sustainable livelihoods such as eco-tourism and carbon credit programs, as well as district-specific planning for the preservation and expansion of mangrove ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tamil Nadu\u2019s mangrove forest cover has nearly doubled from 4,500 ha in 2021 to 9,039 ha in 2024, due to new plantations and preservation of existing mangroves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39229,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39228\/revisions\/39229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}