India has joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate – a joint initiative of Indonesia and UAE
BALI, Nov 16 (The CONNECT) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other G-20 Leaders visited and planted Mangroves at the ‘Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai’ Mangrove forests on the sidelines of G-20 Summit in Bali today.
Mangroves play an important role in global conservation efforts. India has joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC), a joint initiative of Indonesia and UAE under the Indonesian G-20 Presidency.
Mangroves are one of the most productive ecosystems of the world. This tidal forest serves as a nursery ground for several organisms, protects the coastal erosion, sequestering the carbon and providing livelihood for millions of people besides harboring array of faunal elements in its habitat.
Mangroves are distributed in the tropical and sub-tropical region of the world and are found in 123 countries.
Mangroves are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. They account for 3% of carbon sequestered by the world’s tropical forests.
Mangroves are the economic foundations of many tropical coastal regions. To sustain the blue economy, it is imperative to ensure the sustainability of coastal habitats, particularly mangroves for tropical nations, at the local, regional, and international levels.
With notable adaptive features, mangroves are natural armed forces of tropical and subtropical nations. They are the best option to fight against climate change consequences like sea levels rise and increasing frequency of natural calamities like cyclones and storm surges.
India has committed in its NDC – to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030, said Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Control, at the COP event.
“We see the tremendous potential mangroves have for mitigation of growing GHG concentration in the atmosphere,” he said. Studies have shown that mangrove forests can absorb four to five times more carbon emissions than landed tropical forests.
G-20 Leaders On Mangrove Study Tour
It has also been revealed that mangroves can act as buffer for Ocean acidification and act as sink for micro-plastics, Yadav said.
Creating new carbon sink from mangrove afforestation and reducing emissions from mangrove deforestation are two feasible ways for countries to meet their NDC targets and achieve carbon neutrality.
More than 50 mangrove species can be found spread over 5,000 sq km in India. India is placing emphasis on the protection and restoration of mangroves, which are rich sites of biodiversity and serve as effective carbon sinks.
India is committed to conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems; and has strong commitments towards conservation and management of mangroves.
One of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world, the Sundarbans supports an exceptional level of biodiversity in both the terrestrial and marine environments, including significant populations of a range of flora and plant species; species of wildlife wide range of fauna, including the Bengal Tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python. There is significant increase observed in mangroves cover in India in its Andamans region; Sundarbans region; and in the Gujarat region.
