Mangroves can only be successfully revived in areas with a history of plantation
Photo: iStock 
"When Cyclone Fani hit Odisha in April 2019, our village should have been destroyed. But the plantation saved us. The trees protected the roads," said Abhiram Malik, head of Badakot village in Kendrapara district.
The plantation Malik is referring to is a 10-hectare mangrove forest that has come up on the common grazing land of the village, located on the periphery of the Bhitarkanika National Park, as a result of a 12-year-long effort. The forest is home to 27 mangrove tree species, including those of Avicennia, Bruguiera, Rhizophora, Sonneratia and Kandelia genera.
In coastal areas, mangrove forests act as a layer of protection for habitations inland, curbing the impact of floods and cyclones. The residents of Badakot are well aware of the damage that such tropical storm systems can cause.
“Most of the people first lived in a nearby village called Khirakot, which was completely washed away in the 1971 Odisha cyclone. We then settled in Badakot,” said Malik. “In 1999, there was the Super Cyclone, after which 85 families moved away. Some 500 people live here now,” he added.
The repeated destruction left the people, who largely depended on the sea for livelihood, struggling to sustain themselves. In 2006, Bijay Kumar Kabi, an environmentalist from Pattamundai town in Kendrapara, visited the village and spoke to residents on the importance of mangroves on wetlands. “We decided to plant on the huge grazing land in the village, which is right on the banks of the a waterbody,” said Kabi.
Mangroves can only be successfully revived in areas with a history of plantation. Hence, Kabi conferred with the elder residents to understand which tree species grew on the land earlier, and then with help from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), planted different kinds of seeds in small plots on the land.
“We also collected a few seedlings from Bhitarkanika forest. We started creating demonstration plots and gathered data on their growth, pest attacks and survivability,” said Kabi. As mangroves need a proper water channel, dug in a way that freshwater and river water can mix, the residents also studied tidal flow and water availability.
Now, apart from protection from cyclones and floods, Badakot’s mangrove forest also provides firewood and grass to the residents, and is becoming a home to birds and fish. “I am determined to keep building on this model and making more people resilient to coastal hazards,” said Kabi.
The story was originally published in the print edition of Down To Earth magazine's July 16-31, 2023 issue.
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