Successful Restoration of Mangrove Seedbanks in Southeast Coast of India

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Successful Restoration of Mangrove Seedbanks in the Southeast Coast of India

"THE MANGREEN PROJECT"

Celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity with a Success Story from the Field

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Description of the Story

Palk Bay region in southeast coast of India is known for its mangroves, sea grass beds and fishery productivity. This bay separates India and Srilanka. Our project is aimed to establish community based mangrove protection sites. This mangrove sites are called as “seed banks” which is divided into several mangrove thickets. The sites are located on the mouth of riv-ers that enhances the natural seed dispersal through yearly monsoonal river flows into Palk Bay.

Capacity building in local village representatives was the first phase, which includes site selection, species identifica-tion, adjusting land elevations for natural hydrology in the de-graded areas. The sites were selected and after obtaining per-mission from village management, the trained villagers has been involved in fencing, seed collection, nursery management. Sev-eral environmental awareness programmes like street plays, field trips, field research training programmes have been con-ducted to create awareness among youths in the coastal areas.

These successful, pilot mangrove restoration sites of Man-green Project are now emerging as the platform for local NGOs and University Research students who learn and imple-ment the similar activities in other coastal areas. The villag-ers team are continuously are visiting other coastal areas to provide consultancy on mangrove restoration techniques.

Objectives of Mangreen Project

Establishment of Protected Mangrove Restoration sites through participatory community involvement
Capacity Building of village representatives in Ecological Mangrove Restoration Methods
Fencing the degraded mangroves through local community groups and developing mangrove nursery
Conducting scientific research and documentation in mangrove restoration and associated faunal assemblages through universities.
Creating awareness among youth groups in coastal greenbelt and mangrove conservation by field trips, popular lectures and ecoclubs

Map of Project Area

The project area is located in northern Palk Bay of southeast coastal state of Tamil Nadu. A total area of 15 acres are fenced in three villages through local community groups.

Community Participation Activities in Mangreen Project Area Management