A sad metamorphosis across the swamp
Human avarice is destroying the Krishna estuary’s ecosystem, reports P V Krishna Rao eco talk ? Mangroves are rich in nutrients. Leaves and fruits in the man- groves are high in nutrient value and the local residents prefer this foliage as fodder as it is thought to increase yield of milk. ? The ecosystem is home to many medicinal plants. ? Mangroves are spawning grounds for shrimps, and many types of fish. The mangroves that act as a natural defence against cyclones apart from playing a crucial role in sustaining the fragile ecosystem are fast disappearing
T he mangro s of the Krishna estuhe mangroves of the Krishna estu mangroves angroves o Kris ri rishna tu is u uary in Andhra Pradesh are fading y Andhr Pradesh ar fading Andhra radesh are fading ndhra di g away to away to become a thing of the past of the pa past. What was once a dense green fence along the the entire estuarine area presents an gloomy impression of an empty stretch of brown waste today .
Presumably, the local folk is anguished. “There used to be mangroves everywhere,” says Manemma of Polatitippa village near Machilipatnam. “They used to be right outside our houses. Now even if I walk for 10 km, I don’t find any .” More than 73 acres of mangroves were cleared in Polatitippa by the Hyderabadbased Thermal Power Tech Company, promoted by an MP, says Ch Johnson, project manager of the Coastal Environmental Rehabilitation Programme (CERP).
The matter came to light when S Jeevananda Reddy of the Forum for Sustainable Development filed a petition in the High Court, demanding that the felling of mangroves be stopped and the government take steps to restore the forest. The government said the clearance at Polatitippa had occurred within the 1,200-acre area allotted to Thermal Power Tech Company. The court has since put the felling on hold. But how long that ban stays remains to be seen.
Andhra Pradesh’s 3,674-sq-km coastal zone has two major estuaries — the Krishna and the Godavari. Mangroves cover 532 sq km, with around 13 types of flora, including Rhizophora, growing in abundance.
The Godavari mangroves have some protection, as the area is a wildlife sanctuary. But no such protection exists in the Krishna estuary, so there’s been a wholesale destruction of vegetation, and it began long ago in spite of restrictions on the cutting of mangroves. Deforestation continues despite the Coastal Regulation Zone notification that prohibits any kind of activity in ecologically sensitive areas, including fishing except by local fishermen.
The widespread exploitation of this fragile ecosystem has happened in stages. First came the use of mangrove trees for firewood. This had some effect, but the next one, aquaculture, was deadlier.
“About 900 residents of Polatitippa cleared and occupied two-and-a-half acres of the mangrove and turned it into fish ponds,” says village panchayat president Lanka Edukondalu.
“The increase in shrimp farming, port con struction and exploitation of mangroves for fuel, fodder and timber has led to large-scale clearance and destruction of this ecologically sensitive zone,” notes D Nalini, principal of Noble College, who has studied the ecology of the Krishna mangroves in mandals like Nagayalanka, Koduru and Machilipatnam.
Since 1977, all mangrove forests have become no-development zones. Extraction of wood from the mangrove forests in East Godavari district was banned in 1978.
For further protection, the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary was set up over 236 sq km of the Coringa mangroves — also in 1978. The sanctuary was intended to protect endangered species such as saltwater crocodiles, sea turtles, and fishing cats.
The CERP has also been waging a war against the destruction of mangroves in the Krishna estuary for over a decade now and has tried to raise mangrove nurseries to min imise the destruction that’s happened over years in this area.
It is not as though the people in these areas don’t realise the importance of the mangrove. “They effectively reduce the damage caused by cyclones,” points out 27-year-old Ganesh of Polatitippa, perched on the branch of a mangrove, fishing rod in hand.
“A mangrove barrier can absorb a great deal of the destructive power of the gales that accompany a cyclonic system,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s such a powerful defence that the winds would take at least half an hour to hit Machilipatnam, which is about 10 km from the coast. That is more than enough time to evacuate thousands of people.” But this awareness has not translated into providing any protection to the mangroves. The barren fields of Polatitippa are a reality and action needs to be taken to save the mangroves from disappearing altogether.
—krishnarao@epmltd.com way forward Strong community-based groups need to be involved in mangrove conservation, in addition to strict implementation of the coastal regulatory laws. The Coastal Environment Rehabilitation Programme has led to planting of 2.5 lakh saplings in 150 acres at Palletummalapalem, KPT Palem, Malakayalanka and Polatitippa villages of Krishna district.
