In what may be more bad news for Special Economic Zones, a report submitted by the Gujarat Forest Department blames SEZs, as well as haphazard and accelerated industrial development for the disappearance of mangroves. With more SEZs and industrial expansions permitted along the coast, the report warns of dangers of messing with the Gujarat coastline. Backed by satellite images provided by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, the State Forest Department conducted a physical study and mapped mangrove cover in the state. The reports are alarming, according to Dr H S Singh, Chief Conservator of Forests (Research) and author of the report: Mangroves And Their Environment; With Emphasis On Gujarat which was prepared last year. While the Forest Department is protecting and conserving mangroves in notified areas, almost 340 sq km of mangroves not notified or under other Government departments have either vanished or are on the verge of extinction, Dr Singh’s report says. “The mangroves are safe in areas where industrial development is not possible like Kori Creek in Kutch. In such areas, the cover has in fact increased especially in protected areas like Marine National Park in Jamnagar. In certain areas like Mundra and Hazira, they disappeared overnight ,’’ Dr Singh told The Indian Express. But Principal Secretary (Forests and Environment) P N Roychowdhury says this kind of loss is being balanced by “compensatory plantations’’ elsewhere. “Corporates are compensating it by planting mangroves in a larger area. Mundra Port authorities are planting in South Gujarat. Shell has taken up plantation in a large area at Hazira after mangroves in a 40-hectare area started dying due to oil exploration. In a few years, there will be tremendous regeneration,’’ Roychowdhury says. “Mangroves are a very important part of the ecosystem and are the nursery grounds for marine life. They produce food for marine life and the foodchain starts from there. The health of mangroves affects the health of marine life. The Gulf of Kutch and Saurashtra coast attract such endangered species like the whale shark, dugong (sea cow), dolphins, turtles and a variety of fish. Their survival depends on the health of mangroves,’’ Dr Singh says. Dr Singh says: “Mangrove cover in Kandla to Mandvi belt - which is not notified - has either disappeared or has severely degraded especially in the Mundra section. Large tracts have been bulldozed or burnt down, leaving no trace,’’ Dr Singh points out. Spread over 13,000 hectare, the Mundra SEZ area has about 3,000 hectares of mangroves. Of this, large tracts near the Abhanvadi Creek and GMB East area have already been cleared. Right now, excavators are rooting out 10- to 14-feet high mangroves in an area known as the Old Bharat Salt Jetty. Ironically, just a short distance away, the State Forest Department is planting mangrove saplings in an area called Zadapara as part of an afforestation drive. The report points at refineries and salt works on the Jamnagar coast, chemical industries near Mithapur, oil terminals at Vadinagar, Digvijay Cements Company, Tata Chemicals, ACC Dwarka, Sikka Fertiliser Project and Sikka thermal power project for ‘accelerating the degradation of mangroves even in the notified areas’. Gujarat’s mangroves are being affected in several ways: chemical, oil and organic pollution results in deposits on the aerial roots (pneumatophores) through which mangroves breathe, blocking respiration and leading to decay; brine being released into the Gulf of Kutch has started a process of slow but visible degradation.
