Awareness drive to protect mangroves in Mumbai

Pamela Raghunath, Gulfnews 2 Feb 09;

Mumbai: Mumbai is doing little to protect its mangroves that surround the metropolis and only awareness as well as an effort to learn the significance of these wetlands can save these hardy plants from being destroyed, say environmentalists.

As concerned nature lovers observe World Wetlands Day today by hosting various awareness programmes for young and old alike, environmentalists claim that Mumbai has lost 40 per cent of all its mangroves in the past decade or so. This is largely due to reclamation for housing, encroachment by slums, sewage treatment and garbage dumps.

In the land-starved metropolis reeling under skyrocketing real estate prices, land mafia is out to grab land wherever possible, and quite often mangrove areas fall under their clutches.

Recently, when Mumbai Police was busy grappling with the terror attack on the night of 26/11, some persons were burning down 58 acres of mangrove forests near Manori creek in the north west coast of Mumbai. Local people reported they had seen nearly 100 trucks dumping garbage and debris on the site.

"This cannot happen without the local authorities not knowing about it," says Rishi Aggarwal, Honorary Joint Secretary, Mangrove Society of India, Mumbai Chapter. "We plan to meet the Environment Secretary of Maharashtra with many more issues such as this to stop the destruction of mangroves," he says.

The worst affected area in Mumbai is the entire western front. In the early 90's, mangroves existed largely in the Thane creek, Mahim, Versova, Gorai and Ghodbunder with sporadic patches in places such as Bandra, Malabar Hill and Colaba. The Sewri mangroves on the eastern front attract flamingoes every year. The only area where mangroves have thrived is Carter Road, Bandra, where they have actually grown in the past 10 years due to participation of local citizens' groups.

Local participation is essential, says Elsie Gabriel, who founded the Young Environmentalists Programme Trust. "Today, over 500 city students participated in our Wetlands Day inter-school essay writing competition at Powai to learn about how the Earth's marshes, lakes and rivers are vital to human life," she said.

Around 20 of the 35 species of mangroves found in India have been identified along the Maharashtra coast and 15 of these species are found in Mumbai.