Mangrove Restoration for Coastal Protection

The Sundarbans is the world’s single largest mangrove forest provides both ecological and economic benefit to the local community. Most of the local community adjacent to Sundarbans live below the poverty line and depend on the forest resources for their livelihood. The local community are not only economically unstable but also victims of cyclones, floods, heavy tidal surge, increasing salinity level and river bank erosion.

Nomita Mondol lives at Paschim Dhangmari village. Dhangmari river divides her home from Sundarbans. She and her family members are mainly forest dwellers and living under the threat of tidal surge and cyclones. In her previous time, she used to collect the seeds as cooking fuel like other women of this region.

In 2020, Bangladesh Environments and development Society (BEDS) motivated the local community not to use the mangrove seeds as cooking fuel as it is harming natural mangrove regeneration process. BEDS believe that any kind of conservation initiatives becomes successful and sustainable when local communities are on board; fully understand the value of their participation and long-term benefits. So, BEDS communicated with the local community to establish community-based mangrove nursery. At that time, she communicated with BEDS to establish a community-based mangrove nursery in her own land. BEDS supported the her such as bamboo and net for fencing, shading facilities and installed water irrigation system in the nurseries.

With the technical and equipment support of BEDS, she was successful to establish a mangrove nursery. When she worked in the mangrove nursery at the early phase of establishment, people used to mock her for working in the nursery. But she did not care about anything and worked on the nursery heart and soul. It is quite challenging to make the plant healthy and viable in the dry season. She works very hard to keep the produced saplings alive by regular watering and shading of the saplings.

Nomita Mondol expressed her feeling and said, “Before we used to collect the seeds and used as cooking fuel. With the initiative of BEDS, we used the seeds and produced mangrove saplings and also sold the saplings. Last year, I have earned BDT 60,000 from the mangrove saplings. I use the money for my household activities and also for the educational expenses of my children. This year, I have already produced 30,000 mangrove saplings in the nursery and hope that I will be benefited by selling the mangrove saplings.

BEDS established another Community based mangrove nursery at Mathurapur village Shyamnagar sub district of Satkhira district which is also close to the Sundarbans. In this year, BEDS has established Central Mangrove Nursery at Amtola village under Dacope sub district of Khulna district to meet up the demand of mangrove saplings. Around 1,00,000 mangrove saplings can be raised at a time in the central mangrove nursery. The nurseries are managed by the women groups. At present, 20 families are getting support from the mangrove nurseries. Thus, the mangrove coverage has been increased in this region and mangrove nurseries has become a means of ecological and economic benefit for the coastal communities.

We would like to thank all our donors for their contribution and faith for us. We are also requesting our donors to start monthly recurring donations. For recurring donation please find the link below;

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/mangrove-plantation-for-coastal-protection/

Links:

• https://youtu.be/SF1nS-FNO-I