Mangroves as Carbon Sink: India Joins Five-Nation Alliance at COP27

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At the ongoing 27th Session of Conference of Parties (COP27) at Sharm El-Sheikh, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) was launched with India as a partner.

Mangroves

Mangrove trees can grow in saline waters, and can sequester up to four times more carbon than tropical rainforests.
Eighty per cent of the global fish populations depend on mangrove ecosystems.

With notable adaptive features, mangroves are the natural armed forces of tropical and subtropical nations.
They are the best option to fight against consequences of climate change such as sea level rise and increased frequency of natural calamities like cyclones and storm surges.
They are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics and account for three per cent of carbon sequestered by the world’s tropical forests.
Mangroves are the economic foundations of many tropical coastal regions.
To sustain the blue economy, it is imperative to ensure the sustainability of coastal habitats, particularly mangroves for tropical nations, at the local, regional, and international levels.

India holds around 3 percent of South Asia’s mangrove population.
According to the Forest Survey report 2021, mangroves cover in the country is 4,992 square km, which is 0.15 percent of the country’s total geographical area.
- Since 2019, the cover has risen by only 17 sq km.
West Bengal has the highest percentage of mangrove cover in India. It is followed by Gujarat and Andaman, and Nicobar Islands.
- Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala too have mangrove.
In India, mangrove ecosystems are legally protected by the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

At the United Nations climate summit – the 27th Session of Conference of Parties (COP27) – held at the Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, India was among the first countries to join the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC).

MAC is an initiative spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in partnership with Indonesia to strengthen efforts on conserving and restoring mangrove forests.
It aims to raise awareness about the role of mangroves as a “nature-based” solution to climate change.
India is among the first countries to join the alliance; the others include Australia, Japan, Spain, and Sri Lanka.
As part of this alliance, an international mangrove research centre will be established in Indonesia.
- This centre will conduct studies on mangrove ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and ecotourism.

The intergovernmental alliance will work on a voluntary basis and countries will set their deadlines for mangrove conservation.
- The parties will decide their own commitments and deadlines regarding planting and restoring mangroves.
It will be difficult to hold members accountable. However, the member nations will share expertise and back each other in the endeavour to protect coastal areas.

As part of its Nationally determined contributions (NDCs), India has committed to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
- Hence, India is keen on growing the mangrove plantation.
India has demonstrated expertise in mangrove restoration activities for nearly five decades and restored different types of mangrove ecosystems both on its east and west coasts.

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