Odisha villagers donate land for mangrove plantation
The land donation has been made in Rajnagar Block, which bore the brunt of the 1999 super cyclone that left over 9,000 people dead
At least 25 families in Odisha’s coastal Kendrapara district have donated over 25 acres of their land near Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) for mangrove plantation.
Officials said the donations have been made under the Mangrove Mitra Programme and that the park has 82 mangrove species. “We started the programme two years back and found the villagers enthusiastic about it,” said divisional forest officer Sudarshan Gopinath Jadhav.
He added expansion of aquaculture, agriculture, and other developmental activities have degraded mangrove habitats in the region. “We are providing them saplings to regenerate mangrove forests during monsoon season.”
The land donation has been made in Rajnagar Block, which bore the brunt of the 1999 super cyclone that left over 9,000 people dead. Ecologists say mangrove forests can act as carbon sinks and help fight climate change.
Mangroves are spread over 258 square km in Odisha and are mostly concentrated in BNP. The 2021 Forest Survey of India report said the mangrove forest cover in the country increased by 17 square km over the previous two years. Odisha accounted for 8.34 square km of the increase.
The Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem is India’s second-largest. It suffered a loss of forest cover from 1951–1961 due to the resettlement of refugees from Bangladesh. The influx led to mangrove deforestation as people reclaimed land for houses, agriculture, and aquaculture.
Around 150000 people live across 336 villages within the sanctuary, which has suffered losses as residents source wood, timber, medicinal plants, etc there. The construction of jetties, roads, and illegal embankments has also led to environmental degradation there. The mangrove cover in Bhitarkanika went down from 122 square km in 2002 to 101 square km in 2020.
Dilip Kumar Mandal, who donated two acres of agricultural land, said he realised the importance of the mangrove forests in lessening the impact of cyclones in 2021 when Cyclone Yaas hit Odisha and Bengal.
“I realised mangrove forests can save us from natural calamities such as cyclones. As more and more cyclones are forming in the Bay of Bengal, there is no other way than to create more mangrove forests. I consider my two acres of land as an investment to guard my village and other villages.”
Satyabrata Sahoo, who donated one-acre land, called the mangrove ecosystem the best insurance against cyclones.
Activist Bijay Kabi, who has been involved in mangrove regeneration, said the government tried to install geosynthetic tubes to prevent soil erosion but no technology can withstand the severity of the climate. “Only mangrove forests can protect us from such devastation.”
