Changing Scenarios Can Degrade Odisha Mangroves: Study

Bhubaneswar: Disturbances to mangrove forests of Bhitarkanika in Odisha due to changing scenarios can emit 2.16 Tg C back into the atmosphere by 2030 and lead to degradation, new a scenario-based quantification study has found.

In an optimistic scenario, mangroves can sequester 1.55 Tg C from the atmosphere, says the study titled “Scenario-based quantification of land-use changes and its implications on ecosystem services: A case of Bhitarkanika mangrove area, Odisha.”

Therefore, proactive efforts to prioritise conservation and enhanced financing to restore degraded mangrove areas are urgently required.

It further stated that an increase in mangrove and green cover has reduced sediment and nutrient export by a maximum of 24.9% and  7.6%, respectively.

The study published by Asia-Pacific Tetwork for Global Change Research said that the findings will help in evidence-based decision-making about the socio-environmental systems comprising sensitive mangrove ecosystems.

Mangrove habitats play a vital role in balancing the coastal ecosystems by providing an array of provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services.

Despite several conservation measures taken to protect mangroves, they have been facing economic, socio-environmental, and climatic threats.

Therefore, there is a need to quantify the mangroves’ ecosystem services (ES) to fasten up mangrove conservation.

To address this issue, the study quantified the ES of the mangroves in Odisha and projected the changes in ES according to the plausible future land-use changes using scenario analysis.

The plausible future scenarios (by 2030) have been generated based on the participatory surveys and key informant interviews from the stakeholders in the region. The scenarios encompass socio-economic development, infrastructural development, mangrove conservation, agriculture and aquaculture expansion, and climate change.

Coastal blue carbon sequestration, sediment retention and export, and nutrient export were quantified using the InVEST (Integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-ofs) model.