World’s largest mangrove centre in city: Mumbai

Ashwin Aghor, Daily News and Analysis 3 Mar 08;

To be built over an area of 452 ha., it will help create awareness about the importance of mangroves

With the state forest minister Babanrao Pachpute announcing the world’s largest mangrove wetland centre in the city on Saturday, environmentalists have reason to celebrate.

The Conservation Action Trust will develop the centre in association with the state forest department.

The centre, first in India, is the brainchild of the trust and a result of the efforts of Vivek Kulkarni of Conservation Action Trust. It will be developed over 452 hectares at Bhandup along Eastern Express Highway.

“Mumbai cannot survive without mangroves. Despite their importance, mangrove forests are being neglected by a majority of the population. The centre aims to reach out to every resident of the city and increase awareness on the importance of mangroves,” said Debi Goenka of Conservation Action Trust. The centre would not just be an educational hub. It will have recreational value as well, Goenka added. The centre would be ready in next three years, he said.

The project also aims at providing employment to local people. “The success of a project depends on the support and involvement of local people. We have decided to involve local fisher folk in activities related to the centre, such as being a guide to the visitors,” said Kulkarni.

The key features of the centre include state-of-the-art visitor centre, orientation centre, information hubs, nature trails, bird ponds, boat rides, flamingo watch and curriculum based education modules and exhibits for children.

“The idea was conceived in 2001 with the objectives of mangrove protection by involving locals and to provide recreational space to Mumbaikars,” Kulkarni said. In all, 22 ponds would be developed to attract different kinds of birds, he said.

“Every year, around 1.5 million migratory birds visit the area. Over 200 species have been recorded from here,” Kulkarni said. Birds like flamingos, Ibis, Openbill Stork, Brahmani Duck, Teal, Steppe Eagle and Imperial Eagle visit the area.

“The centre is being developed on the lines of the Hong Kong Wetland Centre,” Kulkarni said. There are two mangrove wetland centres in the world - one at Hong Kong and the other at Singapore. The area of these centres is 80 acres and 60 hectares respectively.

Romulus Whitaker, the man who developed Crocodile Park in Chennai, will provide guidance on the species of reptiles found in the area, Kulkarni said. “We aim to include Thane creek under the Ramsal Convention for Wetlands, which was signed by 140 countries, including India, in 1971 to save wetlands all over the world,” he said.