The UNSECO-driven International Mangroves Protection and Conservation Day, 26 July, is doubly significant for Mumbai. It also marks the 15th anniversary of the day that submerged many parts of the city for several days and killed nearly 1,500 people in the western part of India. Apart from the record torrential downpour, the destruction of mangroves to create the Bandra Kurla Complex was a major contributor to the floods that inundated urbsprimisIndis, according to environmentalists. UNESCO points out that mangroves are “rare, spectacular and prolific ecosystems on the boundary between land and sea.” These ecosystems support a rich biodiversity and provide a valuable nursery habitat for fish and crustaceans, besides acting as a natural coastal defence against storms and erosion, the UN body says. Their soils are also highly effective carbon sinks, sequestering vast amounts of carbon. Despite campaigns by a number of NGOs like Global Mangrove Alliance to save these vital sea forests, mangroves are disappearing three to five times faster than overall global forest losses, with serious ecological and socio-economic impacts. Current estimates indicate that mangrove coverage has halved in the past 40 years. In and around Mumbai Metropolitan Region, too, areas like Uran, Charkop and Bhandup, as well as those around the Sion-Panvel Highway have been bearing the brunt of this destruction, say groups like NatConnect Foundation and Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan. The Pratishtan, in fact, was floated after the 2005 floods and works to focus the attention of the government and the public on the need to protect mangroves.
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Here today, gone tomorrow
