The Hindu : Other States / Pondicherry News : Mangroves best defence against tsunami

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 14, 2005

Other States

Other States - Pondicherry

Mangroves best defence against tsunami

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, FEB. 13. K.R. Saravanan and K. Ilangovan, young research scholars, said in a release here recently that they have been engaged in doing research in coastal ecology and also in the study of the relevance and utility of mangroves and coastal vegetations in preventing ravages by the sea.

They pointed out that as research candidates attached to the Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences in Pondicherry University they felt that mangroves, next to corals, "are the best shore front defenders" against the big waves. The network system of these vegetations would nullify or break the waves and would also trap sediments. These scholars contended that the entire coastline might be converted into a greenbelt to minimise and prevent destruction to the coast from the natural calamities such as tsunami. Mangroves along with other coastal vegetations could form an effective green belt.

Mr. Saravanan and Mr. Ilangovan said spending huge money on concrete structures would only serve a limited purpose and would also put strain on the economy. Such a strategy could be adopted on a select basis.

The researchers said they were intensively working in developing mangroves around the Ariankuppam backwater belt in the Pondicherry region. They had done some work in Karaikal also. They had been setting up nurseries since 2003 and had been developing the mangrove cultivation along the identified areas in the backwater belt. They were also monitoring and documenting the growth status of mangroves and were associating the local youth in implementing the project. They had used a five-acre site for plantation.

Seedlings washed away

The two enterprising youth said that by last week of December last year (before the attack of tsunami) they had had 20,000 mangrove seedlings for transplantation. But the tsunami that struck the Ariankuppam belt washed away more than 50 percent of the seedlings in a split second on December 26. But they would go ahead with their firm plan to transplant the seedlings on an extent of 25 acres in collaboration with the local students and the youth.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

Proposal to start SPOs' cell: Pondy I-G

Vocational training gives hope to educated unemployed youth

Move to make JIPMER an autonomous institution opposed

Mangroves best defence against tsunami

Jain temple consecrated