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Over 25 acres of land near Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) in Odisha's coastal Kendrapara district have been given by at least 25 families for the planting of mangroves.
Officials stated that the gifts were done as part of the Mangrove Mitra Programme and that there are 82 different species of mangroves in the park. Divisional forest officer Sudarshan Gopinath Jadhav stated, "We started the scheme two years ago and found the people enthused about it.
He said that the region's mangrove habitats have been deteriorated by the increase of agriculture, aquaculture, and other developmental activities. "We are providing them with saplings to regenerate mangrove forests during monsoon season."
The donated land is located in Rajnagar Block, which was hardest hit by the 1999 superstorm, which claimed over 9,000 lives. Mangrove forests, according to ecologists, can act as carbon sinks and combat climate change.
In Odisha, mangroves cover 258 square km and are mainly found in BNP. According to the 2021 Forest Survey of India report, mangrove forest cover grew by 17 square kilometers over the preceding two years. 8.34 square km of the increase were in Odisha.
India's second-largest mangrove ecosystem is in Bhitarkanika. Between 1951 and 1961, it lost forest cover as a result of the migration of Bangladeshi immigrants. Deforestation of mangroves resulted from the inflow as people recovered land for the construction of homes, farming, and aquaculture.
The sanctuary is home to over 150000 people spread out over 336 communities, however, it has suffered as a result of locals using it as a source for wood, timber, medicinal herbs, etc. There has also been environmental degradation brought on by the building of highways, jetties, and unauthorized embankments. Bhitarkanika's mangrove cover decreased from 122 square km in 2002 to 101 square km in 2020.
