Savita Madkaiker
Every year 26th July, is celebrated as ‘The International Mangrove Day ‘.This day gives an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of Mangroves, which are unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem. We need to promote their sustainable management, conservation and use. Mangroves play a pivotal role in preserving ecosystem. Not only do they protect shorelines from eroding, shielding us from floods, hurricanes and storms, but they also provide nursery area for variety of marine, estuarine and some terrestrial life forms. Mangroves take up to five times more carbon out of the atmosphere than forest on land, thus acting as a tool against climate change.
GOA, known worldwide for its Fish, Fenny and Seashores should add one more to the list that is MANGROVES. Mangroves are fast developing as tourist attraction in Goa. Tourists like to observe the biological diversity found in Mangroves that includes mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Tourists enjoy beauty and serenity of mangrove environment, boating, kayaking, they cherish the fish and shellfish that dwell in this mangrove habitat.
In Goa, ‘MANGROVE SOCIETY OF INDIA’ (MSI), an NGO working for protection, conservation and management of mangrove ecosystem in India placed at Bambolim, Goa, is active in creating awareness among future generation by organizing various Projects and activities in schools. Few years back when I was teaching at, Our Lady of Divar High School, Divar, Tiswadi, Mangrove Society of India had conducted a Project with five schools from Divar and Choarao islands. These islands are surrounded by tick, healthy and luxuriant mangroves.
In my school (Our Lady of Divar High School, Divar), I was in charge of the project. During this project, the resource personnel, Dr Vinod Dhargalkar, Dr Sayeeda Wafar and many other experts on mangroves under the guidance of late Dr A G Untawale conducted various seminars, workshops, exhibition on mangrove biodiversity, field trips, nature walks, nursery visit, plantation workshop and held competitions for these students. Through all these activities students were made aware about importance of mangroves.
In this exercise students got the firsthand experience of the different characters of the plants like viviparous germination, pneumatophores, prop or knee roots and salt glands. During seminars through power point presentations, students learned how this unique tree resource is used for various purposes like tannin extraction, paper and pulp, firewood, timber, charcoal, fodder, food and chemicals.
During the field trips students got to see fishes, prawns, crabs and variety of bivalves growing in mangrove mud and oysters on mangrove tree trunk and realized that mangroves are most suitable area for feeding, breeding and nursery grounds of these marine organisms. With this exposure students realized that each mangrove species is different in characteristic and they are unique by themselves.
Students were explained, why mangrove afforestation was the urgent need of the day and only afforestation will bring coastal environment back to its pristine glory. Students were taken to mangrove nursery and explained how to collect the seeds, how to identify good propagules or seedlings, how to store, how to plant the seedling, where to plant and what precautions are to be taken while planting. Many students even got experience of planting them. Students were given booklets which contained the information, names, sketches of the most common mangroves found in Goa.
Inter school competitions like, elocution, drawing, poster making were conducted and winners were given prizes. The students enjoyed the learning as they actively participated in every activity. That batch of my students must have completed their graduation, but as I still remember those days, they must be also cherishing those memories and I am sure they will recollect the old memories on this day, the 26 July, 2021 ‘International Mangrove Day. Mangrove Society of India, Goa is playing a very responsible role in creating awareness about saving this endangered Species of Mangroves which escalates the beauty of Goa.
(Writer is a teacher at Don Bosco College)
