Survey of mangrove forests between Vashi and Airoli bridges to begin today

The survey is being carried out to ascertain the boundaries of the proposed protected area (PA) in the Thane creek.

Officials will begin surveying the reserved mangrove forests and adjoining mudflats between the Vashi and Airoli bridges Wednesday. The survey is being carried out to ascertain the boundaries of the proposed protected area (PA) in the Thane creek.
The team will verify boundaries along with the forest surveyor over the next few weeks to decide locations where pillars, if need be, can be erected for clear demarcation.

Newsline had reported that the state’s Forest Department was working on a proposal to notify up to seven to eight kilometres of mangrove forests and adjoining mudflats along the western part of the Thane creek as a “wildlife protected area”.

The stretch, which will be given the “legally protected status’, will fall between Vashi and Airoli bridges and will exclude the main creek. Besides untouched mangrove forests, this area is home to more than 25,000 flamingos and various bird species.

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For the survey, these sites will be revisited during high and low tides to see how much area of the mudflats is exposed during low tide. “These areas are important feeding grounds and will provide important information during the low tides,” said N Vasudevan, chief conservator of forests, mangrove cell.

Access to the mangroves and mudflats from the landward side will be another aspect of the survey. “The idea is to have boardwalks with signages giving information of the mangroves and birds seen in the area. There are plans to create a watch-tower at the end of the boardwalk close to the creek from where visitors can view the flamingoes,” said an official from the forest department. In order to avoid any future encroachment, the cell will also measure the distance between the mangroves and mudflats and surrounding residential area.

On the creekside, officials will etch out the boundary steering clear off fishing areas. “The survey is a good occasion to check areas marked in the map and the ground reality to smooth out discrepancies,” he added.

Environmentalists believe that forest department-regulated tourism in this area would enable better protection. “Finally, the department has woken up and decided to work towards better protection of this area. This stretch is already declared an important bird area by BirdLife International and is a potential Ramsar site (wetlands recognised globally due to the Ramsar Convention),” said D Stalin, project director of NGO Vanashakti.

anjali.lukose@expressindia.com

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