Furthering the Mangrove Alliance vision

India is a partner of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) that was launched on 8 November 2022 at the 27th Session of Conference of Parties (COP27).

Speaking on the occasion, Indian Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said that India is home to one of the world’s largest remaining areas of mangroves- the Sundarbans, and has extensive experience in mangrove restoration that can be used to aid global measures.

An initiative led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia, the MAC includes India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, and Spain. It seeks to educate and spread awareness worldwide on the role of mangroves in curbing global warming and its potential as a solution for climate change.

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, while launching the alliance, has said that her country intends to plant three million mangroves in the next two months, in keeping with the UAE’s COP26 pledge of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030.

India has mangrove forests along more than 30% of its coastline. Nearly 50% of the country’s mangrove forests are in the Sundarbans. This region is home to 58 species of mammals, 55 species of reptiles, and around 248 bird species, along with a human population of 12 million in the greater Sundarbans region. These coastal mangroves help mitigate damage from extreme storms, like cyclones and monsoons. Mangrove forests can store 10 times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests. Also, they can store carbon up to 400% faster than land-based tropical rainforests.

According to a government press release, India has adopted three strategies for management of mangrove forests; promotion, regulatory, and participatory.

“The integration of mangroves into the national programmes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is the need of the hour. India can contribute to the global knowledge base due to its extensive experience in mangrove restoration, studies on ecosystem valuation and carbon sequestration,” the Indian minister said. “We see the tremendous potential mangroves have for mitigating growing greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere. Studies have shown that mangrove forests can absorb four to five times more carbon emissions than landed tropical forests,” he added.

The Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) reports that when the mangroves are cut, the carbon stored in these plants gets released into the air. However, once the plants die, they take the stored carbon into the soil, called the ‘Blue Carbon’. Therefore, it is essential to develop awareness among the people leaving in the regions to preserve the trees to keep the carbon emissions levels low. As part of the MAC, India’s efforts are expected to increase on its natural regeneration and planned plantation activities. Steps adopted by individual states must be replicated by other states and regions globally, so that mangroves can be protected and regenerated.

The intergovernmental alliance brings together technical experts, civil society organizations, governments, local communities, businesses, funding agencies and foundations to accelerate a comprehensive, coordinated, global approach to mangrove conservation and restoration at a scale that matters. It seeks to expand and hasten the progress toward the conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems. The alliance’s action aims to scale up and accelerate the conservation and restoration of the mangrove forests. However, the alliance works on a voluntary basis which means that there are no real checks and balances to hold members accountable. Instead, the parties will decide their own commitments and deadlines regarding planting and restoring mangroves. The members will also share expertise and support each other in researching, managing and protecting coastal areas. As part of this alliance, an international mangrove research centre will be established in Indonesia as well.

The annual report of the GMA, ‘The State of The World’s Mangroves 2022’, has pointed out that a net of 5245 square km of mangrove forest has been lost since 1996, driven by a combination of direct human impacts such as clearance and conversion, but also by harder-to-manage changes driven by erosion, inundation, or storms. However, while average losses over the last decade have fallen to 0.04% per year and there have been considerable gains in river mouths and deltas. There has been an increasing understanding of the importance of mangroves worldwide and preventing just one per cent of mangrove loss can prevent 200 million tons of carbon locked away. Creating a new carbon sink from mangrove afforestation and reducing emissions from mangrove deforestation are two feasible ways for countries to meet their targets and achieve carbon neutrality.