Bhubaneswar: On the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, people in three coastal districts of Odisha Friday planted mangroves to regenerate denuded coastal forest cover.
The mangrove plantations in cyclone-vulnerable areas of Odisha are being stepped up and awareness especially for youth and school children, are being organised by Reliance Foundation and its partnering organisations.
Mangrove ecosystem is an important wetland system which provides not just livelihood security to coastal communities, but also ecological security along the coastline.
Around 55,000 mangrove plants were planted with Reliance Foundation’s support in vulnerable areas in Balasore, Jagatsinghpur and Ganjam districts in the last five years, a statement by the foundation claimed.
More than 50 residents of Kharasahapur village in Balasore district were involved in planting mangroves across a one-kilometre stretch of the coastline.
Reliance Foundation has facilitated knowledge transfer from scientific experts, sourcing mangrove plant material and guided the community in management of plantation.
“The 1999 Super Cyclone severely affected my village as the landfall was in our gram panchayat. Villages that had mangrove cover were then less affected. We are regenerating our mangrove cover with Reliance Foundation to mitigate cyclone impact”, said Sukhanto Kumar, a resident of Padmapur village in Jagatsinghpur district, who is a part of the mangrove efforts in his village.
PTI