In the coastal district of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, women self-help group members have turned a crisis into an opportunity. Uttar Gopalnagar is among the most vulnerable area affected by cyclones and climate change in, Patharpratima. In the last few decades, the coasts of Sundarban have witnessed three major devastating storms. The Aila Cyclone, Cyclone Amphan and the Cyclone iyash all severely disrupted the livelihoods of communities in the region. In the context of India and particularly West Bengal, recent studies have proposed that mangrove conservation could be an adaptive strategy for coastal communities, as it acts as a natural barrier, protecting the life and property of coastal communities from storms and cyclones and also providing a broad range of goods and services to the people. 

Cyclones, rising sea levels and increasing water salinity have devastated their communities and turned swaths of fertile ground into wasteland. For years, these women lost income, their health and nutrition suffered, and they found themselves ever more marginalised. Then, through a many different types of development programme of Kajla Janakalyan Samity focused on current market demand; they came up with simple, innovative solutions that helped to transform their communities.

Two of these innovations were mangrove nurseries and plantation. In December 2022, to reduce extreme poverty in Narayan Mandir, Uttar Gopalnagar in Gopalnagar Gram Panchayat, mangrove nursery has created to increase mangrove cover in the area to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. A new SHG group is formed with one woman from each family near the riverside area. The group was named Banashree Mangrove Protection Committee. A new Bank A/C is created for this group. A meeting was organised at Gram Panchayat office, where the Vivekananda Sahoo from Kajla Janakalyan Samity, explained why Uttar Gopalnagar was among the most affected villages, and recommended the need for mangrove plantation in the area.

Run by women, the mangrove nurseries provided an income through growing trees to rehabilitate forest wetlands. The forests act as natural bio-shields against the tidal surges of severe storms and protect the life and property of coastal communities. Rich in biodiversity, they provide goods and services such as food, materials and aquaculture.

They are also powerful carbon sinks, vital for battling climate change. In 2022, members of Banashree Mangrove Protection Committee, procured and planted about 40000 mangrove propagules, collected from Forest range office. The varieties planted were Kankra, Garjan and Black Bani. In the next phase of mangrove saplings plantation, the SHG members were more careful and decided to plant more saplings and grow the saplings locally. The idea of growing mangrove saplings locally appealed to their because it seemed sustainable, and it also open up new livelihood possibilities for the community.

Selection of nursery site: The selection of a site for mangrove nursery is the first important step in the nursery establishment. The location of the nursery influences the survival rate of saplings. Some important criteria to considered are as below.

• Relatively flat land
• Closeness to fresh water sources
• Easy transportation access
• Good drainage (not waterlogged)
• Mechanisms to allow periodic inundation
• Access to good quality salt and fresh water
• Shade regulation
• Good quality propagation
• Proximity to the planting site

In all 40000 saplings have been planted in the nursery site and preliminary assessment shows a survival rate of 80% which is very encouraging. Work on the mangrove nursery has continued for ten months since December 2022. It required three months to set up the nursery and then seven months of supervision. The saplings plantation work began in February 2023 and ended in August 2023. 

Monitoring: Supervisors and field staffs from Kajla Janakalyan Samity regularly hold meetings with members of self-help groups to monitor the nursery. How, from where the seeds of mangroves will be collected, the seedlings will be protected, where will they be taken for tree planting. In addition, the Green Scout team has been formed in the efforts of the Kajla Janakalyan Samity. Most of the members are sons and daughters of members of this self-help group. As a result, members of this Green Scout team also played a leading role in the monitoring of this nursery. Supervision of mangrove saplings is critical as crabs tend to eat the seedlings. It is necessary to do the weeding work regularly and also to ensure that the main and feeder canals do not get clogged.

Benefits of Mangrove cover: Mangroves also provide fuel wood and construction materials. They attract a variety of fish and crabs, presenting another livelihood alternative. Once planted, mangroves tend to expand on their own as the trees drop seedlings as they grow, which then constitute new forests. The seedlings that float away also become the source of forests in suitable areas. These villagers now feel that only mangroves can protect them from cyclones and sea surges. Mangrove plantation can become a livelihood option for a section of the community members who are landless or have lost their cultivable land to sea water ingress or salinity.

Conclusion: This massive mangrove plantation will reduce the pressure or velocity of cyclonic storms. This will also help us to maintain our ecological balance by act as carbon sink. In future this sequestrated carbon will be credited in the international level.