Oil spills snuffing out mangroves

It’s not just the August 2010 oil spill, but also recurring spills that have resulted in the death and absence of regeneration of mangroves.

It’s not just the August 2010 oil spill, but also recurring spills that have resulted in the death and absence of regeneration of mangroves.

HT Image

A report, ‘Study on the impact of oil spill on the mangroves of Mumbai and Raigad coast’, prepared by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) states that the presence of oil in the soil is preventing mangrove seeds from germinating. The report was submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in June.

According to the report, five of the eight locations severely affected owing to the massive oil spill include Colaba, Sewri, Gharapuri, Uran and Vashi (see box).

“The seedling survival and growth results obtained within (all) these sites depict that survival of germinating propagules (buds) that was a critical stage in the life cycle of mangrove species was affected by oil spills… However, repetitive incidences of oil flushes have caused incidental mortality in seedlings,” read the report.

The report also states: “Repetitive oil spills directly hamper the recruitment of seedlings, which may endanger the entire mangrove population on affected coasts.”

The report was submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in June.

In August 2010, MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia collided off the Mumbai coast spilling about 500 tonnes of oil that reached the shores of Mumbai and Raigad. However, within a year, there were two more recorded incidents of oil leaks. The first being, rupture in ONGC’s Mumbai-Uran crude oil pipeline in January 2011 when an estimated 25,000 barrels of crude oil leaked into the sea. In August 2011, MV RAK, which carried 60,000 metric tonnes coal, 290 tonnes fuel oil and 50 tonnes diesel, sank near Mumbai. Apart from regular discharge of fuel oil from Naval Fire Fighting Training Unit at Uran, researchers also pointed out another intermittent spill whose source could not be traced.

Between August 2010 and September 2011, the eight-member team visited oil spill affected areas of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Raigad districts. Oil was found accumulated in mangroves at Uran, Vashi (Navi Mumbai), Sasawane, Kihim, Rewas and Mandwa along the Raigad coastline, Gharapuri isle (Elephanta island) and, closer home, in Colaba.