Mangroves to be planted as barriers to cyclonic storms in Odisha

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State government of Odisha has proposed to raise mangrove and casuarinas plantation in the coastal belt.

Key updates

The mangrove forests (109 hectares)will be raised under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) Phase-II.
The casuarinas(in 4,000 hectares) will be planted by the state resources.
The coastal belt plantation aims to erect a strong, natural barrier against the strong winds during cyclones.

Importance of Magroves to Odisha

Odisha is one the most cyclone-prone states in the country, hence it is important to build the coastal shelter belt to protect the coastal areas.
The Odisha coastal area is a wildlife hotspot as well as an economic zone.
The mangroves have acted as a bio-shield against the strong winds in all the cyclones that struck the state.
For example, the mangroves served as a natural barrier to cyclonic winds in Bhitarkanika National Park during Cyclone Yaas, which hit the state on May 26, 2021.
The cyclone, with wind speed of around 145 km, devastated a few other areas, but its impact was not felt in Kalibhanjadiha island inside the national park due to the presence of mangroves.

Mangroves

Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone.
Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees, also called halophytes, and are adapted to live in harsh coastal conditions.
They contain a complex salt filtration system and complex root system to cope with salt water immersion and wave action.
There are about 80 different species of mangrove trees.
All of these trees grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate.
Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, mainly between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the greatest mangrove area with 5° of the equator.
Areas, where mangroves occur, include estuaries and marine shorelines.
As per the India State of Forest Report 2017 report, the total area of mangrove cover of India is 4,921 Sq Km.
Indian mangroves consist of 46 species (4 of which are natural hybrids) belonging to 22 genera and 14 families, representing about 57% of the world’s mangrove species.

Casuarina

Casuarina is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa.
It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into four genera
Casuarina species are a food source of the larvae of hepialidae moths; members of the genus Aenetus, including A. lewinii and A. splendens, burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down.
In India Casuarina equisetifolia was introduced during the 19th century and is now estimated to be under cultivation in around half a million hectares mainly in the Peninsular region

Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project

It is a process for the management of the coast using an integrated approach, regarding all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical and political boundaries, in an attempt to achieve sustainability.
This concept originated in 1992 during the Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro.
It is a dynamic, multidisciplinary and iterative process to promote sustainable management of coastal zones.
The objective of the ICZM Project is to assist the Government of India in building national capacity for implementation of a comprehensive coastal management approach in the country, and piloting the integrated coastal zone management approach in states of Gujarat, Orissa and West Bengal.