State doesn’t have an oil spill containment plan

It is very difficult to predict anything because there are so many environmental and natural variables. So we will need data spanning five to six years for a thorough analysis. The recovery process is long term if one takes into account intermittent oil spills and monsoon condition.

How long will it take for mangroves to regenerate and for complete recovery process?
It is very difficult to predict anything because there are so many environmental and natural variables. So we will need data spanning five to six years for a thorough analysis. The recovery process is long term if one takes into account intermittent oil spills and monsoon condition. The situation should have stabilized last monsoon but for the two intermittent spills. If the monsoon continues to be deficient, it will also have an impact on mangrove regeneration. This one year study serves as a baseline for future studies and a pointer indicating failure in the recovery process.

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How can the problem be rectified?
There are multiple ways. One is through afforestation or re planting mangrove saplings. But then one has to ensure no spills for five to 10 years, which is how much time it takes mangroves to grow. The other is to develop capacities to contain future oil spills. Globally, there have been bigger oil spills. Though Mumbai spills were mild, they can have catastrophic impacts at a local level.

How important are mangroves and their regeneration for city?
If the spills had to occur in the Sunderbans, Gulf of Kutch, Andamans or the Konkan coast, the impact would have been 100-fold. On a national scale, the Mumbai oil spills then are mild. However, locally, the impact of the spill is severe for Mumbai that has already lost 90% mangroves. Failure in mangrove regeneration despite two breeding seasons and scant rains till now will result in further deterioration of the city's mangroves and their related habitats.

What are the lessons to be learned from this study?
Most oil spill studies are reactive. But it is essential to commission long term monitoring programmes for vulnerable sites at a policy level. This will especially apply to Mumbai, which is very prone to oil spills because of heavy traffic in the high sea, oil rigs and refineries, oil storing terminals and ship terminals along the coast. Though studying plant life is more measurable than marine life, we need a long baseline for continuous assessment through honest long term monitoring.

Has the state government done enough to manage future spills and work towards conservation?
To the best of my knowledge, the state government doesn't have an oil spill containment plan despite three spills. Why wait for a catastrophe? We need a strategic marine conservation plan. At present, it's a free for all situation.