Mangrove forests in India are found along the coastline of 9 States and 4 Union Territories. Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization mandated with forest survey under Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) publishes “India State of Forest Report” (ISFR) biennially. As per recent ISFR 2023, India has a total Mangrove cover of 4,991.68 sq km; which is 0.15 per cent of the country’s total geographical areas. There has been net increase of 363.68 Sq km (7.86 per cent) in Mangrove cover area of the country in 2023 as compared to 2013 and net increase of 509.68 Sq.km (11.4 per cent) between 2001 and 2023. The Government of India has implemented several regulatory and promotional measures to protect and enhance mangrove forests across coastal States and Union Territories. Coastal Zone Regulation Notification of 2019 (CRZ) under The Environment (protection) Act, 1986 classifies Mangroves as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) Very limited activities are allowed in these areas. Additionally, provision of a 50-meter buffer zone along mangroves is also specified as CRZ-IA in case the Mangrove cover is greater than 1,000 square meters. Activities permitted in Mangrove buffer is limited to laying of pipelines, transmission lines, conveyance systems or mechanisms and construction of road on stilts, etc. that are required for public utilities. In such instances, if any mangroves are likely to be affected during the developmental process, three times the number of mangroves lost must be replanted as per the provision of CRZ regulation. The promotional measure includes ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) programme, launched by Government of India with aim to comprehensively explore the possible area for development of Mangroves covering approximately 540 sq km spread across the coastline of India. The objective is to conserve and restore the Mangroves and organise awareness campaigns to educate coastal communities about the importance of Mangroves and their role in protecting the environment. Implementation of MISHTI is carried out by coastal State/UT governments, with financial support through convergence and gap funding from the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). For the financial year 2024-25, Rs 170.96 million has been allocated from CAMPA to Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Puducherry for treatment of 3836 ha of degraded Mangroves and restoration efforts. ‘Conservation and Management of Mangroves and Coral Reefs’ under National Coastal Mission scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change provides financial assistance to coastal States and Union Territories (UTs) for the conservation and management of 38 identified mangrove sites and four coral reef sites across nine coastal states and four UTs. Under this scheme, State governments submit proposals to seek financial support, which is provided in a 60:40 cost-sharing ratio between the Central Government and State Governments. An amount of Rs 80.58 million has been released as Central assistance to 7 Coastal States during period 2021 -23 under the scheme for conservation and management of Mangroves. In addition, MoEFCC with support of three Coastal State (Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha) is implementing Green Climate Fund assisted Enhancing Coastal Resilience of Indian Coastal Community (GCF-ECRICC) project since 2019. The project has a target for restoration and conservation of 10,575 ha of Mangroves in the State of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha and approximately 3114.29 ha has been achieved during 2019-2024 This information was provided by Union Minister Of State For Environment, Forest And Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today. News source: PIB