The taxonomically diverse mangrove trees—possibly etymologically derived from the Portuguese mangue or the Spanish mangle—adapted to thrive in harsh tidal conditions are inherently present in tropical coastal areas with saline or brackish waters and, although highly sensitive to environmental change, are predominantly responsible for the sustainability of marine ecosystems. Constituting more than a hundred species that are 8-20 meters high and coexisting amid varied habitats such as forests, mudflats, lagoons, estuaries, bays, rivers, creeks, and coral reefs, the intricate and unique network of mangroves are hosts to over 174 species of megafauna.
Beyond their rich biodiversity, mangroves are essential for land accretion, coastal stabilisation, and reduced erosion by their dense network of impermeable roots that allows them to endure saltwater immersion, high tides, and storm surges, significantly acting as the first defence barrier for shorelines. They considerably improve the water quality by recycling nutrients, entrapping pollutants to avoid water contamination, and absorbing heavy metals to deposit them as rich sediments. Deemed “the best carbon scrubbers” by NASA, mangroves are adapted to low oxygen conditions and possess an enormous capacity for CO2 absorption and blue carbon storage, making them the most effective carbon sinks on earth.
Conserving the Coasts
Regrettably, mangrove forest habitats face deforestation at a rate of 0.16 per cent annually due to urbanisation, representing the degrading bio-indication of coastal health and compelling the urgent need for preservation and rehabilitation strategies to build resilience against climate change. With a 40 per cent share of the world’s mangrove cover in South East Asia, India nobly harbours 3 per cent of that share spanning across 54 square kilometres in West Bengal, Gujarat, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Endowed with a long and varied coastline, India remains prone to natural hazards such as cyclones, gushes of high winds, extreme wave surges, and tsunamis, posing risks of environmental decline, coastal erosion, and ecological destabilisation. Along with the built, landscape planning in India, therefore, needs to nurture and manage the natural environment that perceptibly impacts the place-making of shores and actively conserves the country’s coastal heritage.
World’s Largest Mangrove
The Sundarban Reserve Forest lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers on the Northern part of the Bay of Bengal distributed between Bangladesh and India, proudly donning the title of the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest spanning over 4975 square kilometres protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The magnificent tidal mangrove forests—literally named “Beautiful Forest”—moulded by unique tidal action are a scenic archipelago surrounded by seemingly-endless brackish water channels.
A sanctuary for many endangered faunas, the entire landscape of these salt-tolerant mangrove islands provides a haven for the Royal Bengal Tiger, Ganges and Irawadi dolphins, Indian python, estuarine crocodiles, and the endemic river terrapin, among a wide range of other aquatic, amphibian, and terrestrial species. Due to its rare geographical setting with rich and unparalleled biodiversity, the alluring World Heritage property remains a popular tourist destination with accessibility by boats through the forest’s dense canopy and unceasing interconnected network of tributaries and tidal waves.
Cyclones, Hazards, and Human Interference
With a dramatic reduction and extinction of certain carbon-rich mangrove species in unregulated areas, these “ecosystem managers’ ‘ or biodiverse hotspots for breeding and nesting encounter threatening hazards, ensuing global warming, sea level rise, and climate change in more ways than one. Urban development and human interventions are the foremost factors driving the loss of mangrove cover in India, with 40 per cent destruction in the last century due to the need for agricultural land, oil spills, industrial purposes, salt mining, waste accumulation, tourism, and aquacultural activities, according to the Indian Institute of Science. In Gujarat, the coastal region has faced complete disregard attributable to heavy industrialisation, its port, and the construction of dams, resulting in increased salinity and a substantial loss of mangroves. Monitoring changes through satellite images underscores the frequent damage in mangrove composition and eroding coastlines caused by extreme rainfalls and flooding, especially the three recent tropical cyclones—Bulbul, Fani, and Amphan in West Bengal—responsible for approximately 28 per cent of deforestation in the Sundarbans, posing societal and environmental risks.
Future Landscape Strategies
With climate change becoming a harsh reality, India has to rethink its priorities and enforce strict laws against anthropogenic activities to keep its mangrove cover intact. Despite many imposed policies and scientific management for the mangroves since the late 19th century, India has continued to neglect and breach them for economic benefits. The country must retain its mangroves through periodic and systematic mapping, enforcement of legislative mandates, incentivisation of mangrove conservation for private sectors, polyculture bio-restoration, and above-all communal participation that involves environmentalists, developers, architects, and planners to devise a sustainable future through a synergetic relationship with nature. Architectural design is a multi-disciplinary discourse concerned with the ecology of the built with the naturally unbuilt that, to move forward, has to broadly incorporate botany, horticulture, soil sciences, management of the wilderness, and reclamation of degraded landscapes. India’s landscape planning and urban design strategies should, therefore, aspire for long-term developments ensuring environmental sustainability and employ a symbiosis with mangroves to eventually secure the ecological balance of the biggest carbon sink of Southeast Asia.
Reference List:
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