“Pollution is at an alarming level in the Bay of Bengal and the satellite images are proving this fact. Unless some steps are initiated immediately to minimise the release of effluents into the sea, it will be difficult to protect the life in the Bay of Bengal as well as the Coringa mangroves that is on the verge of extinction,” says Ravishankar Thupalli, forest biodiversity and community mobilisation expert, who works as consultant for a slew of organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
Speaking to The Hindu on the occasion of the World Ocean Day, Dr. Ravishankar expressed serious concern over the large scale dumping of effluents by industries, shipping companies, ship-making and ship-breaking units along the coast. “Andhra Pradesh enjoys a long coastline of 974 km, in which East Godavari district accounts for 161 km. Since we have the second largest mangroves after the Sundarbans – Coringa mangroves – here, there is every possible threat of the pollution having a cascading impact on the very existence of the mangroves,” he points out.
Highlighting the need for ensuring both the river and sea waters pollution free to protect the life in the mangroves, the specialist in ethnobotany says protecting flora and fauna is crucial to protect the mangroves from the danger of extinction.
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Wing for mangroves
“Same is the case with the Hope Island. The stakeholders should keep in mind that the protection of both Coringa and the Hope Island are interlinked,” he says.
He proposes the setting up of a separate wing within the Forest Department exclusively for the mangroves as there is a lot to do for its protection.
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