Context: Recently, the mangrove cell of the state forest department has proposed the biodiversity rich Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) to be designated as a ‘Ramsar site’.

• If approved, TCFS, spread over 1,690.5 hectares, will be the first such site in Mumbai Metropolitan Region and third in the Maharashtra to be designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites).

Key Points

• The Mumbai Metropolitan Region is likely to get its first Ramsar site at the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary.
• “A proposal to declare Thane creek as a Ramsar site has been submitted by Maharashtra Mangrove Cell and put proposal for approval to the State Wetland Authority.
• A Ramsar site is a wetland area designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
• The State has reached out to the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change with a proposal for the Forest Department to be empowered under the Environment Act, 1986, to allow faster delegation of powers to forest officials to take action in cases of destruction of mangroves and wetlands.

Additional Information
About Mangrove

• A mangrove is a small tree or shrub that grows along coastlines, taking root in salty sediments, often underwater.
• The word ‘mangrove’ may refer to the habitat as a whole or to the trees and shrubs in the mangrove swamp.
• Mangroves are flowering trees, belonging to the families Rhizophoraceae, Acanthaceae, Lythraceae, Combretaceae, and Arecaceae.

Features of Mangroves

• Saline environment: They can survive under extreme hostile environments such as high salt and low oxygen conditions.
• Low oxygen: Underground tissue of any plant needs oxygen for respiration. But in a mangrove environment, the oxygen in soil is limited or nil. Hence the mangrove root system absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere.
• Mangroves have special roots for this purpose called breathing roots or pneumatophores.
• These roots have numerous pores through which oxygen enters the underground tissues.

Succulent leaves: Mangroves, like desert plants, store fresh water in thick succulent leaves.

• A waxy coating on the leaves seals in water and minimises evaporation.

Viviparous: Their seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree. Once germinated, the seedling grows into a propagule.

• The mature propagule then drops into the water and gets transported to a different spot, eventually taking root in a solid ground.

Key Threat

• Constructions: At least one third of all mangrove forests has been lost during the last few decades. Coastal development, including construction of shrimp farms, hotels, and other structures, is the primary threat to mangroves.
• Mangrove forests are cleared to make room for agricultural land and human settlements.
• Overharvesting: Mangrove trees are used for firewood, construction wood, charcoal production, and animal fodder.
• In some parts of the world, there has been overharvesting which is no longer sustainable.
• Others: Overfishing, pollution, and rising sea levels are the other threats to mangrove forests and their ecosystem.

Area Covered
Global: Mangroves can be found in over 118 countries and territories in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

• Asia has the largest coverage of the world’s mangroves, followed by Africa, North and Central America, Oceania and South America.
• Approximately 75% of the world’s mangrove forests are found in just 15 countries.

India

• According to the State of Forest Report 2019, mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq km, which is 0.15% of the country’s total geographical area.
• Mangrove cover in the country has increased by 54 sq km (1.10%) as compared to the previous assessment (2017).
• The deltas of the Ganges, Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari, and the Cauvery rivers contain mangrove forests.
• The backwaters in Kerala have a high density of mangrove forest.
• The Sundarbans in West Bengal is the largest mangrove region in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• It spans from the Hooghly River in West Bengal to the Baleswar River in Bangladesh.
• The Bhitarkanika mangrove system in Odisha is India’s second largest mangrove forest.
• Pichavaram in Tamil Nadu has a vast expanse of water covered with mangrove forests. It is home to many aquatic bird species.
• West Bengal has 42.45% of India’s mangrove cover, followed by Gujarat 23.66% and A&N Islands 12.39%.