Sundarbans Mangrove Restoration

Sundarban has been protecting the city of Kolkata from cyclones as a buffer zone. However, with climate change, severe cyclones have become frequent destroying vast tracts of land area and inundating with saline water. With the anthropogenic pressure of agriculture, fishing, illegal encroachment the carrying capacity of this fragile ecosystem has been stressed. Two severe cyclonic storms Amphan (2020) and Yash (2021) have destroyed the ecosystem, habitation and agriculture fields, plunging the entire region into crisis. With high salinity (we tested EC as high as 17), resulting from inundating water, terrestrial and freshwater aquatic cultivation has become impossible.

We focus on two broad landscapes:

a.    Agricultural fields

b.    Embankment/riverside/ degraded mangrove areas.

For the category Agricultural fields:

·      Focus- The cultivated fields of the 54 inhabited islands.

·      These islands have very few embankments or vegetation remaining and a lot of trees were also cut to patchwork repair of embankments.

·      We take an agricultural field adjoining a village and divide it into two parts.

o  Commercial (10%): It will be The Biofloc system, which is an innovative system where fish can be produced in artificial tanks with high densities. It requires much lesser space than the traditional form of fish farming. The biofloc has reduced climate risk as they are reasonably strong structures and far more resistant to strong winds than a paddy crop exposed to nature.

o  Conservation (90%) Rest 90 % will be reforestation with mangrove species and a few salt-tolerant non-mangrove species.

For the category Embankment/riverside/degraded mangrove areas:

·      Method proposed is scientific reforestation

The commercial area will provide alternative livelihood and food security.

The conservation area will restore mangroves and sequester carbon.

Converting agricultural land to agroforestry and biofloc will ensure food security during climatic hazards.

Planting Mangroves along the river stretch will help minimize damage due to natural calamities like cyclones, floods.

Women would be the first level workforce which will indirectly address empowerment and the rising issue of trafficking