Kolkata, Oct 26
The apprehensions of Cyclone Dana playing havoc in the coastal Sundarbans area scattered over South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal was allayed to a great extent because of the mangrove belt barrier there which acted as a vital speed breaker and mitigated the impact.
Experts pointed out that the mangrove belt barrier enabled wind reduction, just minimising the impact of the cyclone and also acted as a “storm surge protection” meaning absorption of the wave energy, thus shielding the coastal communities there.
At the same time, according to experts, the mangrove belt barrier acted as the “shoreline stabiliser” where roots holding soil in place prevented erosion.
The barrier also resulted in “carbon sequestration” resulting in absorption of carbon dioxide thus mitigating climate change.
Explaining how mangroves reduce cyclonic impact, acclaimed green-technologist and environment activist Somendra Mohan Ghosh said that the first important factor is that mangrove vegetation creates friction which slows down wind-speed substantially and this minimises the impact.
“At the same time, the mangrove forests play an important role both in ‘water attenuation’ and ‘water filtration’. While ‘water attenuation’ helps in reducing the storm surge through absorption of water energy, ‘water filtration’ becomes instrumental in filtering out sediment, pollutants, and excess salts,” Ghosh explained.