Tamil Nadu’s mangrove cover doubles in 35 years: Study

CHENNAI: In a major boost to the marine environment in the State, the total area of the mangrove cover has doubled in 35 years to 45 sq km. However, environmentalists are sceptical about the development as formation of mangroves in new areas might be a result of sea water intrusion.

As per the report ‘EnviStats India 2022’ released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Tamil Nadu had mangrove cover of 23 sq km in 1987, but it increased to 45 sq km in 2021 over the years.

With 2,114 sq km of mangrove forest (Sundarbans), West Bengal has the highest cover in the country followed by Gujarat with 1,175 sqkm. However, mangrove cover in the eastern State was 2,076 sqkm without major change.

Total mangrove coverage in the country was 4,046 sqkm in 1987 and increased to 4,992 sqkm.

Of the 45 sq km of mangroves in TN, 17 sq km are open mangrove and 27 sq km are moderately dense mangrove. Only 1 sq km of mangrove in the State is very dense.

Environmental activist Nityanand Jayaram said that the methodology of data collection should be available to the public. “Increasing mangrove cover is good for the environment but we should see whether the mangrove forests appear in new places instead of expanding from the naturally occurring ones,” he said. “We should see whether they’ve grown near ports, as the ports result in sea water intrusion. If that’s the reason for the growth, it’s not good.”

Corroborating the doubts, districts such as Thoothukudi, Pudukottai, Tiruvallur and Tiruvarur did not have any mangrove cover in 2001. But in 2021, those districts found to be having a considerable extent of mangrove forest with Tiruvarur getting 13 sq km of mangrove cover.

The report added that 4,822 numbers of species exist in the mangrove ecosystem. West Bengal has the maximum number of species followed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.