MISHTI: Mangroves get a budget boost

Under MISHTI, the Union Budget for 2023-24 announced an initiative for mangrove plantations along the coastline and on saltpan lands (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes).
MISHTI is a new programme that will encourage the planting of mangroves along India’s coastline and on saltpan lands.
This new programme will focus on intensive coastal mangrove forest afforestation.

According to the Budget, MISHTI will be implemented through a collaboration of MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) Fund, and other sources.

Mangroves are salt-tolerant plant communities that can be found in tropical and subtropical intertidal zones.
They serve as important refuges for coastal biodiversity as well as bio-shields against extreme weather events.
With the threat of climate change and more frequent tropical storms looming, planting more mangroves is a welcome development for India, which has a 7,500-kilometer coastline.

According to the Indian State of Forest Report (IFSR) 2021, India has approximately 4,992 square kilometres (0.49 million hectares) of mangroves.
Mangroves are found in nine Indian states and three union territories, with West Bengal having the most mangrove cover (2,114 square kilometres).
According to the IFSR report, mangrove cover has increased from 4,046 square kilometres in 1987 to 4,992 square kilometres in 2021.

Infrastructure projects such as industrial expansion, shifting coastlines, coastal erosion, and storms have significantly reduced mangrove habitats.
According to the Global Mangrove Alliance’s 2022 report, approximately 600 square kilometres of mangroves were lost between 2010 and 2020, with direct human impacts accounting for more than 62% of the loss.

Biodiversity: Mangrove forests, which are made up of trees and shrubs that live in intertidal water in coastal areas, are home to a variety of marine life.
Fishing grounds: They also support a diverse food web, with mollusks and algae-filled substrate acting as a breeding ground for small fish, mud crabs, and shrimp, allowing local artisanal fishers to make a living.
Carbon sinks include: They also serve as effective carbon sinks, storing up to four times the amount of carbon as other forested ecosystems.
Cyclone buffers: When Cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal in May, the Sundarbans, which flank the state’s coasts along the Bay of Bengal, largely mitigated its effects.

Anthropogenic activities pose a significant threat to mangroves. These fragile ecosystems are threatened by urbanisation, industrialization, and the discharge of industrial effluents, domestic sewage, and pesticide residues from agricultural lands.
Mangroves suffer greatly as a result of saltpan and aquaculture. Shrimp farming alone has destroyed 35,000 hectares of mangroves around the world.
Farming destruction: In just three decades, 40% of the west coast’s mangroves have been converted into farmlands and other settlements.
Sea-level rise is another threat to these mangroves, particularly along the Bay of Bengal coast.

A one-time contract-based plantation under MGNREGS and CAMPA may not work unless local communities take ownership of the forests.
The discharge of untreated domestic and industrial effluents into rivers should be stopped immediately.
The coast’s natural intertidal flow should be preserved.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/explained-why-have-mangroves-got-a-budget-push/article66472109.ece