Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday spoke about the importance of mangroves in fighting climate change.
Speaking at the COP27 climate conference currently underway at Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, Yadav pointed out that one of India’s commitments to the world was to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
In this, mangroves, which are great carbon sequesters, are a big help.
Yadav was speaking at the launch of Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) at COP27 and called for “integration of mangroves” into the national REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation).
“We see the tremendous potential mangroves have for mitigation of growing GHG concentration in the atmosphere,” the Minister said, adding that mangrove forests can absorb four to five times more carbon emissions than landed tropical forests. Mangroves can act as a buffer for Ocean acidification and act as a sink for micro-plastics, he said.
India, a mangrove pioneer
Yadav stressed that India was 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.
Loss & damage
Yadav’s remarks assumes significance against the backdrop of the big issue of ‘loss and damage’ that is hotly being discussed at COP27 now.
‘Loss & damage’ refers to measures that would help a country affected by a climate action to get back on its feet or restore its lost ecology. The Sundarbans are one such area.
The Sundarbans are a cluster of low-lying islands in the Bay of Bengal, spread across India and Bangladesh. The region is recognised internationally for its unique biodiversity and ecological importance, including the single largest mangrove forest in the world, encompassing a total area of 10,200 sq. km.
The region is home to 7.2 million of the world’s most vulnerable people and the largest single mangrove forest in the world, is increasingly at threat from catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Climate change is contributing to the absence of employment opportunities, the destruction of property from extreme weather events and the loss of vital mangroves and land from sea level rise. With homes and livelihoods under threat, many are left with no choice but to migrate elsewhere.
The increasing scale and frequency of climate impacts mean the limits of adaptation have already been reached in many cases. The most affected argue that the extensive loss and damage needs to be addressed by those responsible with the financial means to do so.