Mangrove plantation: Bengal to impart lessons to nine states in event at Delhi

KOLKATA: A team from the state Forest department led by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Vivek Kumar will be showcasing the work in connection with creation of the shelter-belt of 15 crore mangroves and its associated species in the coastal belt of Bengal since 2020 before the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in New Delhi on Friday.

Nine states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Goa will be taking lessons from the scientific way in which the massive plantation exercise has been executed on 6500 hectares of predominantly non-forest land in Bengal since May 2020, soon after the severe cyclonic storm Amphan dealt a telling blow to the mangrove cover in the state.

Interestingly, the NDMA is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is the chairperson.

"Our mangrove plantation has been highly appreciated by the Centre. So they have sent an invitation to our Additional Chief Secretary for a presentation before nine states so that they can learn about the exercise," state Forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick said at the inaugural programme of Ban Manotsav at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Mangroves are ecologically fragile ecosystem rich in biodiversity and provide range of services like fisheries, medicines, recreation, eco tourism, bio filtration, nursery and coastal protection. It sequesters carbon at a rate of nearly seven times than normal trees.

The local people's livelihood is very much dependent on the mangrove which is a breeding ground for fishes, crabs, mollusk. It also protect groundwater aquifers from seepage of seawater, thereby ensuring water security for the coastal population while a large amount of global fish catches upto 80 per cent is dependent on mangroves thereby ensuring food security for the coastal people. Bengal has recently been adjudged as the Star Performer in the Country and was conferred the Skotch Award for their mangrove and associated species plantation in the most scientific way as possible.

The presentation that was made during the award ceremony was widely appreciated following which ACS Kumar was invited for showing the same again on Friday.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and Speaker of Bengal legislative assembly Biman Banerjee attended the Ban Mahotsav programme.