Women In Sundarbans Show How Mangroves Reduce Impact Of Cyclones

The state of West Bengal often hits national headlines, mainly for controversial reasons. However, there is one area in which the state has been acclaimed as a national role model. And that area is minimising the impact of cyclonic storms — which are increasingly frequent and untimely — in coastal areas.

Had it not been for the Sunderbans, the entire West Bengal would have been completely open to the devastation that has been caused by recent cyclones like Yaas and Amphan.

This project — the ‘Sundarbans model’ has become an exemplar of women’s empowerment. It has been adopted in the Sundarbans area, spread across the South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, and has been accepted as the national model for systematic and scientific mangrove plantation to reduce the impact of cyclonic storms on coastlines.

In July 2023, the ‘Sunderbans model’ was accepted nationally as a Rs 200 crore project named ‘Mishti’ by the Union government. Now, it is proposed that systematic and extensive mangrove plantations will come up along the Indian coastline — from Odisha to Gujarat — to minimise the impact of cyclonic storms.

Additionally, the spirit of women’s empowerment, that formed part of the ‘Sundarbans model’, is also being replicated in the national ‘Mishti’ model, as part of which women-dominated self-help groups (SHGs) will be entrusted with the task of maintenance and plantation of mangroves along the coastlines.

Six coastal states have individually approached the West Bengal forest department by the end of 2022 to purchase nine varieties of mangrove seeds for their states. These states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

A team of experts from West Bengal has visited these six coastal states to train their counterparts there on maintenance, nurturing and plantation of mangrove saplings.

Experts point out the the specialty of mangrove plantations are their stilt roots; these develop from the stem nodes and join the soil substratum, thus providing mechanical support even to weaker stems. This is the reason why mangroves are not easily uprooted and are in a better position to bear the impact of cyclonic storms.

Although the ruling Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal government have taken credit for the ‘Sunderbans model’ being adopted nationally, the beneficiaries give actual credit to a group of environmental activists. Under the aegis of the Nature Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS), these protectionists began a mission in 2007 to ensure permanent and concrete protection from the ravages of tropical cyclones.

Under the banner of ‘Project Green Warriors’, the initiative involves women from three villages — Dulki-Songaon, Amlamethi and Mathura Kand — in the Sundarbans area in South 24 Parganas.

Before the advent of this project, nothing remained by winter since the plantations were monoculture in nature. This was despite the state forest department practicising mangrove reforestation in July of each year.

Before 2007, the quick wiping out of plantations started by the state forest department, was also attributed to a lack of monitoring.

Once ‘Project Green Warriors’ began — involving 150 village women — there was a change in the approach towards systematic mangrove plantation as a long-term resistance tool against cyclonic storms.

Along with 150 SHG women, volunteers from NEWS, began the task of educating local people to avoid cattle grazing in the mangrove plantations or dragging of fishing nets, that were uprooting the plants and leading to soil erosion. This parallel, extensive exercise resulted in a good yield between 2008 and 2009.

The benefits of the project was reaped in May 2009 during Cyclone Aila; its tail touched the Sundarbans before it moved on to Bangladesh. While the rest of the Sundarbans was severely affected by Cyclone Aila, the patches of land where mangrove reforestation had been carried out under the project were absolutely untouched.

This development served as an eye-opener for everyone and NEWS began mobilising funds and doing risk-mapping. Between 2010 and 2015, more than 18,000 local women were involved in the project.

An area as large as over 4,600 hectares of land, scattered over 183 villages in 14 community development blocks in the Sundarbans area was brought under large-scale mangrove forestation. Subsequently, mangrove plantation was also included in the 100-day job project under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, thus ensuring that the protection of the coastlines continued unabated.