Mangroves shrink as shrimp farming thrives

Mangroves shrink as
shrimp farming thrives

Mangroves, the best defence

of coastal habitations

against natural disasters, are

hopelessly exposed to the predatory onslaught

of man in Bhitarkanika, an internationally

known Ramsar wetland

site.

While there is no visible effort to regenerate

the park's denuded mangrove

cover, influential bureaucrats and politicians

have allegedly turned into the

chief patrons of prawn farming ,a

money-spinning enterprise which has

been taking a huge toll on the floral

species, which is often referred to as

Coast Guard as it shields the coast from

rampaging storms and cyclones.

A comprehensive survey by leading

conservationists has stirred up a hornet's

nest. There is ample evidence to

show that politicians cutting across

party lines and also government officials

are directly or indirectly involved in the

business. Some even own prawn ponds

under fake names. With prawn gherries

sprouting like mushroom, mangrove regeneration

has obviously hit a roadblock

in and around Bhitarkanika.

"It's a well-orchestrated ploy to wipe

out this unique coastal forest. Bureaucrats

and local politicians have heavily

invested in prawn trade. That's why they

do not want the existing forest blocks to

be accorded reserve forest status", alleged

a leading environmentalist.

Sources said as many as 41 forest

blocks covering almost 19,000 hectares

of forest land are yet to be conferred reserved

forest status, though a proposal

in this regard has been pending since

2002.These patches marked by frequent

invasion of saline water have immense

potential for regenerating the mangrove

forests. Instead they have turned into

the hotbed of illegal prawn cultivation

activity.

Bhitarkanika has turned into a safe

haven for unauthorized prawn farming

because of bureaucratic and political

patronage. "Unscrupulous officers are

conniving with the local prawn mafia to

hand over the prime mangrove forest

land to prawn farmers. Since top bureaucrats

and politicians have heavily

invested in this money-spinning trade,

they ensure that files move at snail's

pace, thereby paving the way for encroachers

to make as much money as

possible," said the environmentalist

while declining to name the bureaucrats

and politicians involved in the trade for

obvious reasons.

Influential sections of politicians and

bureaucrats have played a dominant

role leading to the fast disappearance of

country's second largest mangrove forest

in Bhitarkanika. The forest blocks

still rich in mangroves are yet be conferred

with reserved forest status. Bureaucrats

are dragging their feet over the

issue because it would come in the way

of illegal prawn farming.

Mangroves are being ravaged in the

most brazen manner. It's too glaring to

escape notice. Large prawn gherries dot

the forest areas and it is visible from the

road leading to the wildlife sanctuary.

Since long, 26 forest blocks comprising

mangrove forests of Mahanadi delta

and Bhittarkanika have been proposed

for declaration as reserved forests u/s 4

and u/s 21 of the Orissa Forest Act,1972.

The total area is 12,638 hectares.

However, without declaring the existing

forests as forests under the OFA,

these forests can be diverted easily for

prawn cultivation and other non-forest

use. These forests are located in Rajnagar,

Mahakalpada and Kanika Range of

Rajnagar Mangrove Forests (Wildlife)

Division.

Even though the proposals are pending

since 2002, officially little has been

done to complete the process of settlement

of claims beforefinal declaration

as forests. Some of the forest blocks like

Kalibhhanjadia, North Mahisamada,

Kantiakhai, Ragadapatia do not have

any human settlements and can be easily

declared as "forests" without delay.

Apart from these 26 forest blocks as

mentioned above, 15 forest blocks

which are declared as Proposed Reserve

Forests(PRF) and Protected Forest have

been encroached by prawn farmers.

An eviction drive was carried out by

the forest officials during 2004-2006 in

five forest blocks- Hetamundia,

Batighar, Sanatubi, Kansaridia. The official

claim was that 1,140 hectares of

forestland was made encroachment

free. Nearly 610 hectares had been taken

up for mangrove regeneration. But the

present scenario is indicative of the fact

that acquired land has been taken over

by the prawn farmers.

Of the 6,231 hectares of green area in

15 Proposed Reserve Forest and PF

blocks, 3,765 hectares are still encroached

by prawn farmers. Some of the

encroachers are also learnt to have filed

court cases though most are said to be

frivolous in nature. The authorities

should not have allowed any kind of

prawn cultivation in Bhitarkanika but it

goes on unabated.

Bhitarkanika is a unique ecosystem

on the eastern coast of India. The area

includes Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary

and Gahirmatha National Park, both

of international repute. The uniqueness

of the topography lies in the manner in

which the region is crisscrossed by a

network of rivers and flanked by the sea

on one side. The region is home to a

wide variety of spectacular plant and

animal species, the keystone species

being the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys

olivacea). The area boasts of

wetlands, backwaters, and brackish

water regions. The vegetation varies

from the deltaic mangrove forests to the

deciduous and semi-deciduous forests.

Instead of making efforts to safeguard

this rich natural heritage, the government

has been building roads, bridges

and fishing complexes in the region allegedly

in violation of the 1972 Wildlife

Protection Act (WPA), the 1980 Forest

Conservation Act (FCA), and the Coastal

Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification issued

under the 1986 Environment (Protection)

Act (EPA), thereby threatening

the existence of the mangrove ecosystem.

Bhitarkanika Wildlife sanctuary

presents contrasting paradoxes even as

illegal human settlements coupled with

alarming growth of prawn farming

within the notified forest areas have hit

its fragile eco-system hard.

There are at least 410 villages within

the site with a population of more than

2 lakh. Historically, migrants from

neighbouring states even from across

the Bangla borders have settled there,

destroying the mangroves in the

process. The settlements that came up

following the influx of migrants have, in

the meanwhile, been declared as revenue

villages by the state government

mainly out of political compulsion.

The migrants served as secure vote

banks for the ruling parties over the

years. As a result, as many as 43 revenue

villages continue to thrive causing irreparable

damage to peripheral flora

and fauna of the Bhitarkanika ecosystem.

The wasteland and pastureland

that form part of revenue land have all

been encroached. n