GENERAL ARTICLES

Mangrove forests of India

K. Kathiresan

Mangrove forests of India are globally unique with the highest record of biodiversity, gifted with
the mangrove genetic paradise at Bhitarkanika, and the globally threatened wildlife species in the
Sundarbans. The Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh is the only largest mangrove forest in the
world colonized by the Royal Bengal Tigers. Mangroves are dense and floristically diverse along
the east coast of India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They are largely distributed in the
high energy tidal coast of two extreme conditions: (i) humid and wet in Sundarbans with rich bio-
diversity, and (ii) arid and dry in Gujarat with low biodiversity. Despite increasing pressures, the
mangrove cover in India increases annually at the rate of 1.9%, as against the global mangrove
cover that disappears at 0.66%. However, India has a large track of sparse mangrove stand. This
article discusses the present status of mangrove forests, conservation and management strategies
being followed successfully in India, and recommends the future directions for mangrove restora-
tion, improvisation of sparse stands, participatory management, and quality publications on mangrove
research.

Keywords: Bhitarkanika, mangrove forest ecosystems, management, Sundarbans.

MANGROVES are woody plants, forming the only tall tree thereby ensuring water security for coastal population.
forests in the world, ably located between land and sea in Mangrove forests remove coastal pollution particularly
tropical and warm temperate coasts. Mangroves are toxic heavy metals. They offer coastal protection against
specially adapted to harsh environment, where no other the fiery effects of natural calamities such as tsunami,
plant species can survive. This is a structurally simple storm surges, cyclone and floods1,2,6. The potential of
forest system with the highest biomass production in the mangroves in carbon capture and sequestration is remark-
intertidal and estuarine areas, and its standing crop is able in mitigating the impacts of global warming and
greater than any other aquatic systems on the Earth. It is climate change7,8. In India, mangrove forests can remove
structurally and functionally unique to have well- nine tonnes of CO2 everyday which is approximately
developed aerial roots, viviparous germination, salt regu- equivalent to 270 million US dollars in the international
lation, and nutrient retention. Mangroves are the only market2. Long term survival of mangroves is at a great
‘blue carbon’ forests of the ocean, and are also known as risk and it is possible that the ecosystem services offered
‘Coastal woodland’, ‘Oceanic rainforest’ and ‘Tidal for- by the mangroves may totally be lost in the world within
est’1,2. It is a rare type of forest in the world with only 73 the next 100 years9. With increasing destruction and deg-
tree species, occupying 15.2 million hectares in 123 radation, it is critical to understand the mangrove forests
countries3. of India for the present status and future actions required
Mangrove forests are ecologically significant and eco- for effective conservation and management.
nomically important. They provide ecosystem services
worth at least US$ 1.6 billion each year and support
Mangroves in India: uniqueness
coastal livelihoods worldwide4. They serve as the nursery,
feeding and breeding grounds for crabs, prawns, mollusks,
India has a mangrove forest cover of 4921 sq. km, occu-
finfish, birds, reptiles and mammals. A large amount of
pying only 3.2% of global mangrove forest. Sundarbans
global fish catches (up to 80%) is dependent on man-
has the largest mangrove cover, occupying 43% and
groves, thereby ensuring the food security of coastal peo-
Gujarat has the second largest cover with 23% of total
ple5. The mangroves provide firewood, timber, cattle
cover in India10. The two areas alone occupy 66% of the
feed, honey, medicines and tourism development. They
mangrove cover, surprisingly in adverse condition of high
protect groundwater aquifers from seepage of seawater,
energy tidal coast, experiencing two extreme situations.
K. Kathiresan is in the Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology,
For instance, Sundarbans is in humid and wet condition
Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai with high biodiversity, whereas the mangrove forest of
608 502, India. e-mail: [email protected] Gujarat is in arid and dry condition with low biodiversity.

976 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 114, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2018

 GENERAL ARTICLES
Interestingly the Andaman and Nicobar islands have the be attributed to the mighty rivers (e.g. Ganga, Brahmapu-
third largest mangrove forest in India, occupying 13% of tra, Mahanadhi, Krishna, Godavari and Cauvery) along
the total cover, located in low energy tidal coast with rich the east coast that form deltas, rich in sedimentation,
biodiversity. upstream water discharge, nutrient-rich alluvial soil, in
Sundarbans is internationally recognized as the world addition to the smooth topography, which increases the
heritage site of UNESCO. The Gangetic Delta in which intertidal areas for colonization of mangroves along the
Sundarbans is situated is the largest wetland with the east coast. On the contrary, the west coast has narrow
highest sedimentation in the world. Sundarbans in India intertidal areas due to steep coast, and absence of deltas
and Bangladesh put together is the largest mangrove as a result of funnel-shaped estuaries. The Andaman and
forest, and it is also the only mangroves colonized with Nicobar Islands have 13% of the total mangrove cover,
the Royal Bengal Tigers, in the world. This is the dense endowed with 75% of mangrove species, colonizing in
mangrove forest, unique in extending 100 kilometers in- low energy tidal coast with accumulation of peat and
land from the sea front, and the flora and fauna residing calcareous materials in coastal fringes, tidal estuaries,
here have amazingly adjusted to the rigorous ever- small rivers, neritic inlets and lagoons14.
fluctuating tidal environment. Sundarbans supports glob- According to the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, the
ally threatened species such as tigers, fishing cat, gan- mangrove coverage was 4046 sq. km in 1987 and was
getic dolphin, estuarine crocodile, horse shoe crabs, water 4921 sq. km in 2017, based on remote sensing data (Table
monitor lizard and river terrapins1,2. 2). In the past 30 years, the mangrove cover decreased in
India is the third richest country for mangrove bio- Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands at
diversity in the world, after Indonesia and Australia11. 0.61% and 0.34% per year respectively, whereas it in-
Bhitarkanika in the Odisha state is considered as the creased in all other places by 168% in Gujarat; 117% in
‘mangrove genetic paradise’ in the world, like the one in Maharashtra; 113% in Tamil Nadu; 22% in Odisha; 26
Baimaru of Papua New Guinea. Bhitarkanika is also folds in Goa; 10 folds in Karnataka; 9 folds in Kerala; 3
associated with the largest population of birds and croco- folds in Daman and Diu and 2 folds in Puduchery. There
diles especially albino crocodiles. Other natural treasures was a marginal increase of only 1.83% at 0.061% per year
along the mangroves in India are: (i) world’s largest nest- in the Sundarbans. Overall, the mangrove cover increased
ing site for the Olive Ridley turtle in Gahirmatha coast of by 21.63% over 30 years at 0.72% per year in India.
Odisha; (ii) seagrass meadows associated with the seacow Mangrove cover in India increased by 181 sq. km
(Dugong); (iii) coral reefs associated with most beautiful between 2013 and 2017 at 1.9% per year as against global
ornamental fishes; and, (iv) intertidal mudflats teeming
with the migratory and residential birds, of about 2 mil-
lion, belonging to 200 species2. Mangroves are wor- Table 1. Total number of floral and faunal species reported to exist
shipped in several places around the world; there is a in mangrove ecosystems of India
temple for mangroves in Chidambaram of Tamil Nadu, No. of
where the mangrove species, Excoecaria agallocha has Groups species
been worshipped for the last 17 centuries1,2.
Floral groups: Mangroves 44
India has the highest record of biodiversity in man- Mangrove associate plants 86
grove forests of the world and no other countries have re- Seagrass vegetation 11
corded so many species to be present in the ecosystem. Marine algae (phytoplankton + seaweeds) 557
So far, 4107 species including 23% of flora and 77% of Bacteria 69
Fungi 103
faunal species have been recorded. Eight groups of organ-
Actinomycetes 23
isms are dominant by exceeding 100 species and they are Lichens 32
mangrove species (true mangroves + mangrove associ- Total of floral species 925
ates), marine algae (phytoplankton + seaweeds), fungi,
crabs, mollusks, insects, other invertebrates and finfish12 Faunal groups: Prawns and lobsters 55
Crabs 145
(Table 1).
Insects 661
Mollusks 337
Other invertebrates 745
Present status of mangroves Fish parasites 7
Fin fish 554
Amphibians 13
Mangroves are dense, healthy and floristically diverse
Reptiles 84
along the east coast of India and Andaman and Nicobar Birds 513
Islands, compared to the west coast of India. The east Mammals 68
coast has 57% of total mangrove cover, with 88% of Total faunal species 3182
mangrove species in India, whereas the west coast has Total number of species 4107
30% of cover, with 62% of mangrove species13. This can
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 114, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2018 977
GENERAL ARTICLES
Table 2. Change of mangrove cover in different maritime states and union territories of India between 1987 and
2017 according Forest Survey of India

Change of cover between 1987 and 2017

Mangrove cover (sq. km)
Area Percentage of increase,
State/UT 1987 2017 (sq. km) loss or fold of increase

Andhra Pradesh 495 (12.4%) 404 (8.21%) –91 –18.38

Andaman and Nicobar 686 (17.2%) 617 (12.54%) –69 –10.05
Gujarat 427 (10.7%) 1140 (23.17%) +713 +167.98
Maharashtra 140 (3.5%) 304 (6.18%) +164 + 117.14
Odisha 199 (5.0%) 243 (4.94%) +44 +22.11
West Bengal 2,076 (51.9%) 2114 (42.95%) +38 +1.83
Goa 0 26 (0.53%) +26 +26 fold
Kerala 0 9 (0.18%) +9 +9 fold
Daman and Diu 0 3 (0.06%) +3 +3 fold
Karnataka 0 10 (0.20%) +10 +10 fold
Tamil Nadu 23 (0.58%) 49 (1.0%) +26 +113%
Puducherry 0 2 (0.041%) +2 +2 fold
Total 4046 (100%) 4921 (100%) +875 21.63

Values in parentheses are percentage of total cover.

mangroves, which disappear at 0.66% (refs 3, 10). How- There is a growing threat of climate change especially
ever, the open sparse mangrove cover is 40% in the coun- sea level rise in low lying coastal areas of the country.
try10. This deserves attention for its transformation into a Mangrove habitats of the east coast have a smooth slope,
dense mangrove cover. Further, India has two globally whereas the west coast except Kerala has a steep slope.
threatened species (Heritiera fomes and Sonneratia grif- Hence, the east coast of India and Kerala are vulnerable
fithii) of the total 11 species under IUCN Red List15,16. to sea level rise, than the west coast12. After the 2004 tsu-
These two species are nearing local extinction due to nami, the coastal soil salinity has increased which
low-seed viability and slow growth15. Sundarbans in changes the floral species composition and affects the
India is named after the beautifully looking species, locally benthic organisms in the mangrove sediments particularly
known as ‘Sundari’ (H. fomes), but these species here are along the east coast17.
disappearing fast15. Further, there are eight mangrove
species recorded only in Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
Management of mangrove forests: success stories
and they are Lumnitzera littorea, Rhizophora × lamarckii,
Rhizophora × mohanii, Sonneratia × urama, Sonnera-
Despite increasing pressures, mangrove forests are suc-
tia × gulngai, Sonneratia griffithii, S. lanceolata and
cessfully managed in India by adopting three manage-
S. ovata11.
ment strategies: (i) promotory; (ii) regulatory and (iii)
participatory12. In the promotory approach, the Govern-
Drivers and pressures on mangroves ment of India implements the Management Action Plan
(MAP) in 38 mangrove areas, identified all along the
Mangrove forests continue to be stressed by various fac- coast. In the regulatory approach, India is strong on the
tors like conversion for urbanization, aquaculture, agri- policy front with sufficient legal support for mangrove
culture, salt farming and other developmental activities protection in the National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary,
such as tourism, mining, refineries, oil pipeline passages, Reserved Forests, Protected Forests and Community
port/harbour, dam and road constructions; changes in hy- Reserves; however, effective implementation of the legis-
drological regimes; increasing salinity; coastal pollution; lations is often constrained by lack of financial and
siltation; exploitation of fishery resources; cattle grazing; human resources, poor infrastructure and lack of political
private ownership and ineffective institutional regimes. will12. Focus on participatory management involving all
Specific stressors are: (i) agriculture and prawn seed col- stakeholders especially from the industrial sectors is
lection in the Sundarbans, West Bengal, (ii) prawn farm- essential. In this regard, India has demonstrated the best
ing and encroachment in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, practices of conservation and management of mangroves,
(iii) cattle feed in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, (iv) industrial and they are (i) Canal bank planting with ‘Fish Bone’
developments in Gujarat, (v) cyclone and floods along design for mangrove restoration; (ii) Maharashtra
east coast, (vi) mangrove areas under private lands in Mangrove Conservation Model; (iii) Kannur Mangrove
Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka; and (iv) urbanization Mission and (iv) Participatory mangrove management
in Mumbai14. model.
978 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 114, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2018
 GENERAL ARTICLES
Canal Bank planting with ‘Fish Bone’ design for mented a number of programmes such as deployment of
mangrove restoration artificial reefs; transplantation of corals; identification
and protection of sea turtle nesting sites; release of the
Mangroves are largely degraded in Tamil Nadu and turtle hatchlings into the sea; survey of corals, coastal
Andhra Pradesh. The reason for the degradation is attri- birds, sea snakes, otters, monitor lizards and marine
buted to high salinity of dry soil as a result of lack of mammals (dolphins and finless porpoises). The cell de-
regular tidal flushing due to low tidal amplitude18. To tected blue whales and Bryde’s Whales for the first time,
overcome this situation, the M. S. Swaminathan Research and safely released the two stranded blue whales to deep
Foundation (Chennai) and the Forest Department demon- waters with the help of local people. The Cell has also
strated the ‘Canal-Bank Planting’ technique with ‘fish promoted crab, oyster and seabass fish farming practices
bone’ design, in Muthupet and Pichavaram in Tamil in the mangrove waters, as supplementary livelihood for
Nadu as well as East Godavari and Krishna districts of the benefit of local people. In addition, the Mangrove
Andhra Pradesh19,20. In this technique, canals are formed Cell implemented GIZ project ‘Sustainable Management
so that the high saline soil gets regular tidal inundation, of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas’ in 2014 under
leaches out salts and becomes suitable for mangrove res- ‘International Climate Initiative Agreement’ between
toration. This effort was undertaken with the participation Governments of India and Germany. This led to the
of local mangrove user communities resulting in in- notification of the ‘Thane Flamingo Sanctuary’, which
creased forest cover by about 90% in the degraded areas spreads over an area of 1690 ha and supports 10 man-
of Pichavaram mangrove wetland, between 1986 and groves and 200 bird species22.
2002 as proved by satellite data21. The Mangrove Cell has successfully demonstrated
a cross-sectoral approach towards marine and coastal
conservation, in partnership with leading national institu-
Maharashtra Mangrove Conservation Model22 tions, agencies, NGOs and with a wide range of Govern-
ment departments such as Fisheries, Agriculture, Tourism,
The Government of Maharashtra initiated mangrove con- Police, Revenue, Urban Development, etc. The govern-
servation, after the landmark order of the Bombay High ment of Maharashtra has recently set up a registered body
Court on 6 October 2005. The high court order prohibited of ‘Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation
all constructions in mangrove areas as well as within Foundation of Maharashtra’, for promoting conservation
50 m radius from the mangrove boundary. It also directed and management22.
that mangroves on government land be declared as
‘protected areas’ under the Indian Forest Act and transfer
Kannur Mangrove Mission
them to the forest department. As a result, 5469 ha of
mangroves on government land were transferred to the
The ‘Mission Mangrove Kannur’ was taken up by the
Thane Forest Division by the revenue authorities. How-
District Collector, Kannur (Kerala), along with the forest
ever, such efforts for the rest of the mangrove areas in
department in May 2014 to survey, notify and save
Maharashtra are yet to be undertaken22.
mangroves of the district. The mission took 14 months to
The Government of Maharashtra constituted ‘Man-
achieve its goal for the first time in Kerala. As a result, a
grove Cell’ in January 2012, and then the ‘Mumbai Man-
comprehensive survey of mangroves was completed and
grove Conservation Unit’ in 2013 to protect mangroves in
236 ha of mangroves was notified as ‘Reserved Forest’,
Mumbai and the adjoining areas, and elevated the status
for permanent conservation. In addition, the mission
of mangrove forests on government land from ‘protected
started the process of acquisition of 1,200 acres of man-
forests’ to ‘reserved forests’. This led to notification of
groves from private owners23.
15,088 hectares of mangroves on Government land as
‘reserved forests’ in seven districts of Maharashtra. The
mangrove cell also achieved plantation in more than Participatory mangrove management
200 ha of mangrove degraded areas in the Greater Mum-
bai region. In addition, the cell demarcated the areas un- In India, mangroves are managed prominently in the
der the control of Forest Department on the ground with states of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andra Pradesh, West Bengal
boundary markings, based on satellite mapping at and Gujarat through community-based co-management24.
1 : 50,000 scale. As a result of all these efforts, the man- With financial support from Indo-Canada Environmental
grove cover increased phenomenally by 20% between Facility (ICEF), New Delhi, the M. S. Swaminathan Re-
2013 and 2015 (ref. 22). search Foundation achieved Joint Mangrove Management
Further, the Mangrove Cell undertook the UNDP-GEF (JMM) for restoration and conservation of mangroves
project on ‘Mainstreaming of Coastal and Marine Biodi- through the participation of local people along with the
versity into Production sectors in Sindhudurg District’ forest departments. The JMM project involved 5240
during the mid-2012. Under this project, the cell imple- families from 28 villages along the east coast of India.
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 114, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2018 979
GENERAL ARTICLES
About 1475 ha of mangroves were restored by planting more preferable than artificial restoration by planting
6.8 million mangrove saplings. To empower local people, (Figure 1).
194 self-help groups were organized to implement pov- Mangrove species are highly vulnerable to develop-
erty alleviation programmes such as supplementary in- mental activities. In Bhitarkanika (Odisha), there is
come-generating activities for firewood, fodder, fencing an island named ‘Kalibhanji dia’ situated adjacent to
and house construction. A similar effort was undertaken Dhamra Port, and this small island is endowed with most
by the Gujarat Ecology Commission with financial sup- of the mangrove species of India. There are several such
port of ICEF, New Delhi. This project has promoted areas with rich plant diversity which should be identified
community-based regeneration and management of the along the country and managed as ‘Mangrove Germplasm
mangroves in about 5000 ha area along the Gulf of Preservation Centres’. A few species of mangroves are at
Kachchh and Gulf of Khambhat in five years from 2001 a high risk of extinction. It is necessary to collect infor-
to 2006. mation about the extinct, rare and fast disappearing spe-
cies of specific areas and understand biology and limiting
factors of population reduction in those species. This will
Mangroves for the future
help in implementing the recovery of species in the
specific areas. More studies are required to understand
India had a mangrove cover of 6000 sq. km during year the
the interactions between animal and plant communities in
1960s, and it has reduced by 21%, i.e. 4740 sq. km. How-
the mangrove ecosystem, especially the interdependence
ever, since 1995, the mangrove cover has got stabilized
between mangrove plant components and pollinators, as
close to 4500 sq. km with an increasing trend, despite in-
well as ants, crabs, gastropods and birds. Much more
creasing pressures. There was an increase of 112 sq. km
efforts are necessary to alleviate the stress factors for the
mangrove cover between 2013 and 2015, significantly in
loss of mangrove forests.
Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and, Andaman and
India is a global leader in mangrove research and man-
Nicobar Islands10. It is necessary to achieve a target of
agement. Our country is ranked third position in man-
6000 sq. km by restoring the mangroves in potential areas
grove research publications, next to China and USA.
within a period of 10 years. In this regard, the best proven
Twelve per cent of the total publications on mangroves
practices of participatory management can be suitably
during 2000–2010 were from India, as against USA and
replicated in other mangrove areas.
China with 17% and 14% respectively. Among the top 10
Mangrove planting efforts have largely been a failure,
due to death of planted seedlings. In this regard, ‘ecologi-
cal restoration’ is suggested in which right conditions are
provided for the mangroves to grow back naturally. It is
necessary to understand local ecological conditions and
hydrological regimes to restore the hydrology and remove
the barriers to natural regeneration. It is also necessary to
select appropriate species for planting, and assessment of
success and functionality (vegetation, succession, faunis-
tic recruitment, environmental factors and process) in the
restored areas. This approach is more effective to ensure
the restored mangroves survive and function better25.
Afforestation refers to the plantation in new areas, Figure 2. Globally threatened mangrove species of India: shoot
whereas restoration refers to the planting in damaged, branches with (a) flowers and fruits in Sonneratia griffithii; and (b) in-
degraded and destroyed areas. Of the restoration types, florescence of Heritiera fomes.
natural restoration and hydrological restoration are

Figure 3. Mangrove restoration along the Vellar estuary, Tamil Nadu

with (a) 15-year-old Avicennia marina; and (b) one-year-old Rhizo-
Figure 1. Methods of mangrove restoration and their requirements. phora mucronata.

980 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 114, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2018

 GENERAL ARTICLES
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including medicines. Vencatesan. Salinity rise in Indian mangroves – a looming danger
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7. Kathiresan, K., Anburaj, R., Gomathi, V. and Saravanakumar, K., ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. The author is thankful to UGC, New
Carbon sequestration potential of Rhizophora mucronata and Avi- Delhi for BSR Faculty fellowship and the authorities of Annamalai
cennia marina as influenced by age, season, growth and sediment University for providing facilities.
characteristics in southeast coast of India. J. Coastal Conserv.,
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8. Kathiresan, K., Gomathi, V., Anburaj, R. and Saravanakumar, K., Received 17 August 2017; revised accepted 12 October 2017
Impact of mangrove vegetation on seasonal carbon burial and
other sediment characteristics in the Vellar-Coleroon estuary,
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