Cyclone Nisarga destroyed 1.5 lakh rare mangrove saplings at Raigad

Close to 1.5 lakh rare mangrove saplings and hundreds of trees were destroyed when cyclone Nisarga made landfall in Raigad district on June 3, said forest officials

Close to 1.5 lakh rare mangrove saplings and hundreds of trees were destroyed when cyclone Nisarga made landfall in Raigad district on June 3, said forest officials on Friday.

Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary recorded more than 200 tree falls when the cyclone made landfall in Raigad district. (HT Photo)

The mangrove cell said the state-owned nursery at Akshi Creek, south of Alibag, was right in the path of the cyclone. The 28-acre nursery had rare species like Bruguiera cylindrica, Sonnertia alba, Rhizophora mucronata and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza.

“This is the largest mangrove nursery in the district where sturdy mangrove species have been destroyed, showing the intensity of the cyclonic winds,” said Karishma Kawade, range forest officer (Alibag). “Full mangroves have been uprooted and found a few metres from they were originally located,” she said.

Damage to isolated patches of mangrove were also reported from the coastal tehsils of Alibag, Murud, Tala, Mhasala, and Srivardhan. Mangrove cell officers from Raigad said Avicennia marine, the most common mangrove species along the Maharashtra coast, were damaged along creek ends.

Mangroves are a natural buffer, shielding landward areas against cyclones and rising sea levels. Raigad has the maximum mangrove cover and accounts for almost 40% of Maharashtra’s mangrove area (121 sq. km of 302 sq. km). “While the trees faced the major impact of the cyclone landfall, their protection and presence reduced the impact on property and livelihood during the cyclone,” said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forest (mangrove cell).

Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, spread across 6,979 hectares in Raigad district, recorded more than 200 tree fall cases in addition to 1.10 lakh tree fall cases reported from village and semi urban areas.

“A preliminary assessment shows there has been massive damage to the bird habitat in Phansad where thousands of nests have been destroyed as this was the nesting season,” said Nitin Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Maharashtra. So far, there are no reports of animal casualties or injuries due to the cyclone.