As India joins the global Mangrove Alliance for Climate, the focus has once again shifted to conserving one of the most vulnerable coastal species that is facing the increasing threat of climate change. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined other G20 leaders in planting mangroves at the Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai forest in Bali where the G20 Summit is currently underway.
The second day of the summit was focused on finding solutions to global challenges such as the climate crisis and energy transition. The Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) that India joined at COP27 is also a joint initiative of Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
India’s mangrove cover is significant, with one of the highest biodiversity in the world. As per India State of the Forest Report 2021, the total mangrove cover in the country currently stands at 4,992 sq km. The latest assessment showed that the country recorded an increase of 17 sq km in mangrove cover as compared to the previous assessment of 2019, with the maximum improvement in Odisha (8 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (4 sq km) and Karnataka (3 sq km).
However, as impacts of climate change intensify, the sea-level rise and extreme weather events — including tropical cyclones and storm surges — are putting the tidal forests at increasing risk. The industrial activities along the coastal areas have further aggravated the damage.
CRITICAL FOR CLIMATE ACTION
The tidal forests are not only one of the most productive ecosystems of the world, but critical for protecting coastal erosion, sequestering the carbon and providing livelihood for millions of people. They are also important in the fight against climate change, accounting for 3 per cent of carbon sequestered by the world’s tropical forests.
One of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world, the Sundarbans support an exceptional level of biodiversity in both the terrestrial and marine environments, including significant populations of a range of flora and plant species; species of wildlife wide range of fauna, including the Bengal Tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.
CRITICAL FOR CLIMATE ACTION
The tidal forests are not only one of the most productive ecosystems of the world, but critical for protecting coastal erosion, sequestering the carbon and providing livelihood for millions of people. They are also important in the fight against climate change, accounting for 3 per cent of carbon sequestered by the world’s tropical forests.
One of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world, the Sundarbans support an exceptional level of biodiversity in both the terrestrial and marine environments, including significant populations of a range of flora and plant species; species of wildlife wide range of fauna, including the Bengal Tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.