Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh recently exhorted Maharashtra to emulate Gujarat?s commendable efforts to conserve mangrove forests. Gujarat?s efforts show how industrialisation needn?t come at the cost of environmental degradation.
In 2006, Gujarat announced an eco-restoration model for the mangrove wetlands as part of its coastal zone management PPP scheme. Spearheaded by the Gujarat Ecology Commission, this was the first-of-its-kind initiative in which corporates like Adani, Shell and Ambuja have been roped in for funding and monitoring the project, while community-based village organisations share responsibility for project implementation. The project has shown spectacular results, with 1490 ha of mangrove plantation being developed through active involvement of the coastal community and corporate partners in Surat, Bharuch and Bhavnagar districts over the past four years. The project has also helped create awareness about the importance of mangrove conservation among local communities and industrial groups. Thus, it?s not surprising that Gujarat?s mangrove forest cover has risen sharply in an over 55 sq km area during the last two years.
Of the 4,639 sq km area of mangrove plantation in India, Gujarat covered 1,046 sq km in 2007 compared to 991 sq km in 2005. In 2008-09, the state added another 30 sq km of mangrove forest cover to protect its coast from sand erosion. Not only that, in view of the vital role mangroves play in the overall protection of the ecosystem in coastal areas and also of marine animals and birds, the state government has undertaken a ten-year project of mangrove plantations. With the aim of increasing mangrove cover across its coastline, the Gujarat government has also initiated a mass campaign to mobilise local communities to participate in large-scale plantation. Awareness generation programmes and community mobilisation activities are planned in over 300 villages along the 1,600 km coastline of Gujarat. The state ministry of environment and forests has decided to undertake mangrove plantation in over 10,000 hectares every year to achieve this target, the kind of plantation and replantation that Maharashtra?s government ought to consider doing to balance the twin goals of environment protection and industrialisation.
jyotsna.bhatnagar@expressindia.com