Rejuvenation of Mangroves in Ramanathapuram

The Forest Department of Ramanathapuram has successfully created 100 acres of mangroves and also rejuvenated another 100 acres that had become barren spending Rs 10 Lakh. This great step was initiated by the forest department under the guidance of Ramanathapuram Wildlife Warden A S Marimuthu.

The Pitchavaram and Muthupettai better known as Ramanathapuram has more than 1000 hectares of Mangroves and is India's one of the largest mangrove forests. But large areas had turned barren as the salt content went beyond 40 ppt in the region, resulting in Mangroves dying.

Mangroves are very important in maintaining the ecological balance and the sea wealth. They help form a natural barrier against violent storm surges and floods. They also help prevent erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems. They maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating from land.

The authorities are also creating awareness among local people about the need to protect the natural wonder.

“We found that there had been eight different species of mangroves in the region, but the predominantly two existing species are Avicennia marina and Avicennia officinalis. Other varieties had been destroyed due to the high salt content, and we decided to rejuvenate and create new forests”, S Satish Ramanathapuram forest range officer told.

The rejuvenation of mangroves was taken up in Uppur and new forests have been created on another 100 acres in Karan Kadu, Gandhi Nagar and Kadalur. The forest officer said that they had used the modified Fishbone channel technique for developing the forests and this helped ensuring better salinity levels, and also proper water current for the forest to thrive.