Our group have been working on ecological restoration of degraded mangrove patches outside the protected areas in Indian Sundarbans settlement regions in the shoreline mangroves lining the estuarine rivers since 2014 with financial assistance from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and with all logistic supports from Forest Department, Govt. of West Bengal. Initially we attempted developing a model site-specific biorestoration technology for an approx. 3-ha degraded patch of mangroves on banks of Mridangabhanga-Barchara confluence at the village Ramganga, Patharpratima Block, South 24 Pgs, West Bengal. Our reference ecosystem was the co-located nearby pristine protected mangroves at Lothian, Prentice, Bhagabatpur, Diya, Dhonchi, Bonnie Camp, Kalash, Chulkathi islands, under the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, India. At the present moment, in 2023, this small semi-restored patch has shown quite improvement, and now it is harbouring almost 30 species of mangroves and associate species including rare and threatened ones, associated fauna, and huge natural regeneration of mangrove seedlings in each season, proving the restoration of functionality of the ecosystem as a whole. Once barren, now this site is a biodiverse hub and have been included in the internal website of OECM India as a potential OECM site. This site-specific degraded mangrove ecological restoration technology developed by our group is presently expanded for another 30 sites comprising of about 60 ha of degraded mangroves outside the PA region in river shores of Sundarban villages in Patharpratima Block, with all financial supports from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
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http://wbsu.ac.in/Ecoregion
Sundarbans mangroves
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Botanist, Conservationist, Field biologist, Naturalist, Scientist, Ecologist
Krishna Ray
Videos
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Experience with Ecological Restoration of Degraded Mangroves in Indian Sundarbans- Dr. Krishna Ray
Dr. Krishna Ray, join us and shares her Experience with Ecological Restoration of Degraded Mangroves in Indian Sundarbans.
The Sundarbans are the largest mangrove forests in the world spanning a total area of 20,480km2. It occurs in a broad complex delta region formed by the convergence of two of the largest river systems within india; the Ganges and the Brahmaputra conjoining to become the Padma. The rivers split and fan out into a dense matrix of channels, creeks, distributaries and waterways that propel and deposit millions of tonnes of Alluvial clay and silt from the himalayas and central Indian highland regions. The mangroves of sundarban are highly sensitive and vulnerable to the effects of climate change with the average annual net loss of forest has reached about 5.2 million hectares in the past 10 years. It is here that Dr. Krishna Ray and her team have been working on ecological restoration of degraded mangrove patches outside the protected areas in Indian Sundarbans settlement regions, since 2014 with financial assistance from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and with all logistic supports from Forest Department, Govt. of West Bengal. Initially they attempted developing a model site-specific biorestoration technology for an approx. 3-ha degraded patch of mangroves on banks of Mridanga Bhanga-Barchara confluence at the village Ramganga. Now in 2023, this small semi-restored patch has shown a lot of improvement, and harbors almost 30 species of mangroves and associate species including rare and threatened ones, associated fauna, and in each season there is an immense natural regeneration of mangrove seedlings, proving the restoration of functionality of the ecosystem as a whole. Once barren, now this site is a biodiverse hub and has been included in the internal website of OECM India as a potential OECM site.