Tamil Nadu forms 20 village committees to strengthen protection of mangrove ecosystem

IUCN lists mangroves in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and Maldives as critically endangered, prompting village mangrove committees for protection.

The International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) has listed mangroves in coastal regions spanning Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Maldives as ‘critically endangered’ in its first global assessment of mangrove ecosystems. 

To protect mangrove cover, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has constituted 20 village mangrove committees, an official said.

Of the 36 geographical areas spanning tropical, sub-tropical and some warm temperate coasts across the world, only South India, Sri Lanka & Maldives, besides warm temperate northwestern Atlantic region, have the critically endangered status as per the IUCN study released on May 22. 

In the South India ecoregion, mangroves in Muthupet (Thiruvarur district), Ramanathapuram, and a small part of southern Kerala were considered for the assessment.

Mangrove ecosystems are important for biodiversity conservation, provision of essential goods and services to local communities, and reducing the impact of climate change. 

As per IUCN, the threats to mangroves are evolving rapidly. “In the past we saw degradation from wood exploitation, deforestation for agriculture and shrimp farming, and indirect imports from dam construction altering freshwater and sediment fluxes. Today, mangroves face additional challenges due to climate change, including sea-level rise and an increased frequency and severity of cyclonic storms,” it says.

In Tamil Nadu, according to the Indian State of Forest Report, the extent of mangroves have doubled from 23 sq.km. from 2001 to 45 sq.km. in 2021.