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Ecology & Environment, Schemes & Policies
Mahesh

02/02/23 08:03 AM IST

MISHTI Scheme for Mangrove plantations

In News
  • Budget 2023-24 announced that mangrove plantations will be taken up along the country’s coastline apart from salt pans, wherever feasible, through the convergence of the job guarantee scheme MGNREGS, the Compensatory Afforestation Fund, and other funding sources.
About the Scheme
  • The main aim of the scheme is to take up mangrove plantations along the coastline.
  • Meaning, mangrove saplings will be planted along the coastal regions of the country.
  • Mangrove forests are spread across AP, WB, Odisha, Andaman and Nicobar, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.
  • MISHTI is to be implemented by converging CAMPA Fund, MGNREGS, and other sources.
  • CAMPA Fund means Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority.
  • The fund was established to increase the activities of afforestation in the country.
Significance
  • As per UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, mangroves are highly productive coastal ecosystems that are particularly important for their capacity to store carbon.
  • Scientific assessments show that they can sequester two to four times more carbon than terrestrial forests, thus making them a key component of nature-based solutions to climate change.
  • Healthy mangrove ecosystems also provide habitat for marine species, support fisheries by providing important spawning grounds for commercial fish species, filter water flowing into our oceans, and protect coastlines from erosion and storm surges.
Threats
  • According to the Blue Carbon Initiative, in the last 50 years alone, 30-50 percent of mangroves have been lost globally, and they continue to be lost at a rate of 2 percent each year.
  • While it means that less CO2 is being absorbed, removal or damage of these ecosystems has also resulted in stored carbon being released back into the atmosphere.
  • Human activities such as the building of roads, railways and infrastructure projects, as well as shifting coastlines, coastal erosion and an increase in storms due to extreme weather events have all taken a toll on them.
Mangroves and India
  • As per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021, our country has about 3 percent of South Asia’s mangrove cover. Besides West Bengal (42.45 percent of India’s mangrove cover is found here), substantial mangrove ecosystems can be found in Gujarat and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • India’s 7,517 km-long coastline, which is home to nine coastal states and 1,382 islands, makes our country particularly vulnerable to the effects of ocean-driven climate change.
  • It’s why restoring and protecting mangroves has emerged as a priority for India, and several countries around the world.
  • Even at COP27, mangroves were identified as an important solution to climate change.
Mangrove Alliance for Climate
  • Led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia, MAC also includes India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, and Spain.
  • Among its goals: educating and spreading awareness worldwide on the role of mangroves in curbing global warming and its potential as a solution for climate change.
  • Member countries will decide their own commitments and deadlines regarding planting and restoring mangroves, and share expertise and support each other in researching, managing and protecting coastal areas.
Source- PIB

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