India precedents

INDIA

Community Meeting regarding Mangrove planting in Anhdra Pradesh, India, 2005.

Courtesy of The Andhra Community Forest Project.

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Precedents in India

Tamil Nadu

250 km

250

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Kilometers

INDIA

Cultivation of Casuarina and Mangrove and a recovering shoreline, 2003 dry season(left) and in 2012 Monsoon season (right) inTamil Nadu. Courtesy of Google Aerial Images.

Mangrove and Casuarina Shelterbelts in Tamil Nadu, India In 2004, mangrove shelterbelts in the coastal region of Tamil Nadu, India, absorbed much of the energy of a tsunami that caused significant damage to neighboring, non-sheltered coastal villages just 2 km to the south.

A product of the Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project (ETRP), shelterbelts of mangrove and casuarina were planted by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department as a collaborative effort in 2005 by 13 coastal districts.

This widespread effort to conserve coastal agriculture and estuarine ecosystems has proved to be successful, not only through its conservation of flora and fauna, but also through its protection of coastal economies.

Culturally, both the Mangrove and Casuarina are of significance; Mangrove is iconic of the coasts of India, while Casuarina serves not only as a shelterbelt but also as a source of timber.

In the first phase of its implementation, the ETRP planted 4,778 hA of shelterbelts along the 341.6 km of the coast alone. The project is ongoing, and has received participation from both local governments and private interests.

1 km

#=estimated 5 Million seedlings Casuarina equisetifolia- Casuarina Mangle rhizophora-Mangrove

50,000 trees

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INDIA

Extents of shelterbelts in Tamil Nadu, India, 2012. Courtesy of Google Aerial Imagery.

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