MANGROVE RESTORATION AND COASTAL SECURITY IN INDIA

THE CONTEXT: 26 July is observed as the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem. India has simultaneously unveiled the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) and released the India State of Forest Report 2023, which pegs the country’s mangrove cover at 4991.68 km², up 16.68 km² since 2019. Meanwhile, the first global IUCN Red List of Ecosystems assessment warns that over 50 % of the world’s mangroves may collapse by 2050 in the absence of urgent action.

Ecological–Economic Rationale:

• • Blue-carbon powerhouse: Mangroves store up to four times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial tropical forests, locking it away for centuries in anoxic mud.
  • Risk-mitigation shield: Field studies after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami show that a 100-metre-wide mangrove belt reduced wave height by 50–60 %, saving lives and infrastructure.
  • Livelihood lifeline: Nearly 4 million Indians depend on mangrove-based fisheries, apiculture and eco-tourism, generating an estimated ₹1 700 crore annually (National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, 2024).
  • Biodiversity nursery: One-third of India’s marine fish catch breeds in mangrove creeks; the Sundarbans alone host 260 bird species and the only mangrove tiger habitat.

EVOLUTION OF INDIA’S POLICY FRAMEWORK:

CASE ATLAS – FOUR WINDOWS INTO SUCCESS:

DRIVERS AND ENABLERS:

• • Political prioritisation: High-visibility disasters (Cyclone Amphan 2020) made “coastal green walls” a cabinet talking point.
  • Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) reforms: Flexibility to bankroll marine green infrastructure.
  • Digital Public Goods: Bhuvan Panchayat 3.0 and LIDAR-based elevation maps guide micro-contouring of tidal creeks.
  • Blue-carbon markets: Voluntary carbon prices for mangroves average USD 15 / tonne, catalysing private finance (World Bank 2023 Blue Carbon report).
  • Social capital: Self-Help Groups and Fishers’ Cooperatives embedded in restoration MoUs ensure labour intensity and ownership.

THE CHALLENGES:

• • Bio-physical: Rising sea-levels cause landward squeeze where hard infrastructure blocks retreat; altered salinity from upstream dams weakens seed recruitment.
  • Socio-economic: Shrimp aquaculture fetches 3-4× higher returns per acre than intact mangroves, creating a perverse incentive.
  • Institutional: Fragmented mandates across Forest, Fisheries, Revenue and Port authorities; absence of a single “coastal chief secretary” hampers convergence.
  • Knowledge gaps: Only 15 % of Indian mangrove plots have long-term phenology or carbon-flux data, limiting adaptive management.
  • Tenure insecurity: Traditional fishers lack legally recorded usufruct rights, discouraging stewardship.

THEORETICAL LENS:

• • Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) defined by the United Nations Environment Programme as the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to climate change frames mangroves as in-situ risk-management infrastructure rather than ornamental “greenery projects”.
  • Complementing EbA is the idea of Polycentric Governance, where multiple quasi-autonomous centres (village councils, municipal bodies, port trusts, corporate CSR arms) cooperate through learning networks, yielding flexible, context-specific solutions.
  • Empirical work on community mangrove forestry (Chávez Páez et al., 2025) shows such polycentricity reduces human-driven mangrove loss by 28 %.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• • Codify a “No-Net-Loss” clause in the next CRZ amendment: This will mandate developers to compensate any permitted mangrove clearance with scientifically supervised restoration at a 3:1 ratio. State Coastal Zone Management Authorities must publish offset compliance online for public audit.
  • Launch a National Blue-Carbon Registry under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency: Standardised Measurement, Reporting and Verification protocols will unlock Article 6 carbon markets. Revenues can flow into a ring-fenced Coastal Resilience Fund.
  • Adopt Tidal Hydro-engineering as the default restoration technique: Re-excavation of silted channels improves natural recruitment by 300 % compared with hand-planting alone, as shown in Pattuvanachi. MGNREGS labour budgets can cover canal desiltation costs.
  • Devolve usufruct rights to “Mangrove Panchayats” under the Forest Rights Act, 2006: Secure tenure raises community stewardship and reduces illegal conversion. Pilot in Sundarbans and Bhitarkanika before nationwide roll-out.
  • Mainstream Mangrove-smart Ports: Major Port Authorities Act rules can require green-belt buffers and biodiversity offsets for new berths. A port-led mangrove belt also fulfils the International Maritime Organization’s decarbonisation goals.
  • Scale drone-assisted seed broadcasting: Trials in Kutch show 74 % germination for aerially dispersed Avicennia marina propagules along inaccessible mudflats. Indian Space Research Organisation can provide low-cost geotagging for survival audits.

THE CONCLUSION:

If India can weave EbA science, polycentric governance and market incentives into a “Mangrove Marshall Plan”, it will enter Viksit Bharat 2047 with secure coasts, empowered communities and a substantial blue-carbon dividend. Protecting and restoring these tidal forests is therefore not an environmental luxury but a strategic imperative for sovereignty and sustainable prosperity.

UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:

Q. Discuss the causes of depletion of mangroves and explain their importance in maintaining coastal ecology. 2019

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Mangrove restoration is no longer a peripheral conservation agenda but a core element of India’s climate resilience and coastal security strategy. Analyze.

SOURCE:

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/efforts-to-restore-mangroves-can-turn-the-tide-on-indias-coastal-security/article69857555.ece