pro-poor, pro-nature & pro-women.
Bioshield
and coastal vegetation
| Mangrove forest establishes in coastal areas where river water mixes with seawater. These areas are called estuarine or brackish water environment of coastal zone. Mangrove forests located in the estuarine environment are intersected by a number of small creeks and channels and in many cases large open water bodies are also found associated with them. Mangrove forests and associated tidal creaks, channels and lagoons together constitute mangrove wetlands. |
| Theses mangrove wetlands provide a variety of protective and productive services to the coastal communities: |
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| Apart from these mangrove wetlands, coastal shelterbelt plantations, mainly casuarina, raised by State Government Agency called Forest Department with support of centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), funding agencies like Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) aimed at mitigating the adverse impact of storms and cyclones in coastal areas. |
| The coastal communities, both fishing and farming raise coconut, palm and cashew plantations along the coastal areas, particularly in between their village and sea for both productive and protective services. |
| The recent Tsunami has not only caused destruction to life and property but also serious damage to the coastal ecological and economic recourses. The coastal communities are directly or indirectly dependent upon these coastal resources for their livelihoods. Rapid assessment indicates the need for a detailed evaluation of impact of the Tsunami on the coastal ecological resources, which are important for livelihoods and/or coastal protection. On the other hand, the coastal vegetations such as mangrove, coastal shelterbelt and community vegetations along with combination of factors such as coastal sand dunes, creaks have played a role in mitigating the impact of Tsunami on these coastal communities to some extent. This provided an opportunity to develop long-term measures to counter the effect of Tsunami on coastal areas. Further, the coastal resources, which have suffered severe damage, can be remedied through the application of technological and social empowerment. |
| ""We have observed that mangroves often served as a barrier to the fury of water," says Prof M. S. Swaminathan, father of India's 'green revolution', and head of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Chennai, India. MSSRF scientists found, for example, that in October 1999, mangrove forests reduced the impact of a 'super-cyclone' that struck Orissa on India's east coast, killing at least 10,000 people and making 7.5 million homeless. Similarly, during the recent tsunami it was observed that in the Pichavaram region of Tamil Nadu, villages that were under the physical cover of the mangrove forest were saved life and property. |
| More than 15 years ago, MSSRF launched a programme to restore India's vanishing mangrove forests. One success story is the Joint Mangrove Management project, supported by the India-Canada Environment Facility and Canadian International Development Agency. Implemented in six mangrove areas along the east coast of India between 1996 and 2003, the project has developed a science-based, community-centered and process-oriented approach to restore and conserve mangrove wetlands. |
| With reference to mangrove conservation and management, MSSRF is following a three-pronged strategy: i) conserve and regenerate mangroves along the east coast of India, ii) strengthening the participation of stakeholders in the conservation and management through education, training and policy support and iii) identifying and transferring salt tolerance genes from mangroves species to crops like rice and mustard growing in coastal areas. |
| The major programme in this area will be the establishment of bio-shields along the coast involving raising plantations of mangroves in suitable areas and casuarinas, bamboo and other appropriate coastal plants including economically important tree species such as cashew, coconut etc. The eco-restoration programme will also involve the promotion of joint mangrove forest management and the raising of community nurseries of suitable bio-shield plants. This programme has been envisaged with a view of blending ecological security of the coastal ecosystems with livelihood security of coastal communities in a mutually reinforcing manner. |
| To initiate this bio-shield programme, three hamlets have been selected for medium and long-term rehabilitation measures with three-pronged strategy as developed in the Joint Mangrove Management programme. The following are the villages selected for implementing the above bioshield programme. |
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| Mangrove Community Nursery Management and Propagation Techniques |
| Mangrove constitutes one of the most important ecosystems for coastal zones of east and west coast of India as it is provides multiple benefits including ecological and economical benefits. Mangroves played a major role in reducing damages and lives from Tsunami affected areas in the east coast of India. Mangroves require special attention and proper understanding of the physiology, flowering; seed dispersal meachanisms help forestry, silviculture, and researchers to speed up the coastal forestry afforestation, restoration programmes. Mangrove plants possess peculiar seed characters known as viviparous or semi viviparous. The seed materials have very short duration dormancy and germination capacity because viviparous and semi viviparous propagule germinate from the mother plants itself before detached. The seeds require immediate good muddy substratum and low salinity level for better germination. Seed viability, storage, and transportation need greater attention before introduction in mangrove afforestation and restoration programmes. This problem has been solved this to a great extent. M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has developed techniques for mangrove propagation by the establishment of a mangrove nursery. |
| MSSRF have developed intensive nursery management system for mangrove plants with coastal communities to meet saplings requirement for restoration of mangrove plants in Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Orissa. The communities have been trained in raising mangrove nursery, management and plantation techniques |
| Another system of propagation techniques has been developed for mangrove plants. MSSRF has been developed successfully for seed, vegetative, micropropagation techniques for all mangrove species to meet saplings production throughout years continuously from all candidate plant species. Accordingly, propagated plants are hardened at low cost community mist chambers for better growth and survival. |
| The following propagation manual is available in English and Tamil versions to help forester, nursery development, researcher and these are useful for enhance production of mangrove saplings for mass planting in degraded coastal saline areas and Tsunami affected areas. |
| Download |
1. Manual on Vegetative and Micropropagation
of Mangroves (English) 
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| 2. Manual on Vegetative and Micropropagation of Mangroves (Tamil) |
