What is the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, and what does it aim to achieve?

Spearheaded by the UAE in partnership with Indonesia, MAC was launched at the COP27 Summit in Egypt to scale up and accelerate the conservation and restoration of the mangrove forests

Dubbing mangrove forests the "most productive ecosystems" of the world, India on Tuesday joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) at the 27th Summit of the Conference of Parties (COP27) at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. UAE, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Spain and Sri Lanka are the other MAC supporters.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said that the mangroves can absorb four to five times more carbon emissions than the tropical forests and can help create new carbon sinks.

"India can contribute to the global knowledge base due to its extensive experience in mangrove restoration, studies on ecosystem valuation, and carbon sequestration," Yadav said.

What are mangrove forests?

A mangrove is a shrub or a small tree that grows along the coastlines and has roots in salty sediments, often underwater. They also grow in swamps. Mangrove forests can survive extreme weather conditions and require low oxygen levels to survive. 

The mangroves cannot survive freezing temperatures and thus are found mainly in tropical and subtropical latitudes. Sundarbans in West Bengal in India is the largest mangrove forest in the world. 

UNESCO celebrates July 26 as the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem to raise awareness about mangrove ecosystems and to promote their conservation.

What is the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC)?

Spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in partnership with Indonesia, MAC was launched at the COP27 Summit in Egypt to scale up and accelerate the conservation and restoration of the mangrove forests.

The alliance will raise awareness about the role of mangroves as a "nature-based solution to climate change".

The alliance will be amplified at the G20 Summit that will be held between November 15 and 16 in Bali under the presidency of Indonesia.

"The MAC seeks to scale up, accelerate conservation, restoration and growing plantation efforts of mangrove ecosystems for the benefit of communities globally, and recognize the importance of these ecosystems for climate change mitigation and adaptation," MAC's official website said about its aim.

How are the Mangroves beneficial?

According to MAC, Mangrove forests can store ten times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests. Also, they can store carbon up to 400 per cent faster than land-based tropical rainforests. According to Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA), when the mangroves are cut, the carbon stored in these plants gets released into the air. So, preserving them to keep the carbon emissions levels low is necessary.

Once the plants die, they take the stored carbon into the soil. This is called "Blue Carbon".

Moreover, Mangrove forests act as natural barriers against rising tides and storms. Each year, they prevent property damages of over $65 billion.

"They also provide breeding grounds for marine biodiversity and 80% of global fish populations depend on healthy mangrove ecosystems," MAC's website read.

What is the relationship between India and mangroves?

India contributes to nearly half of the total mangrove cover in South Asia. According to the Forest Survey report 2021 released in January, mangroves cover in the country is 4,992 square km, which is 0.15 per cent of the country's total geographical area. Since 2019, the cover has risen by only 17 sq km.

West Bengal has the highest percentage of mangrove cover in India, mainly because it has Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. It is followed by Gujarat and Andaman, and Nicobar islands.

Other states that have mangrove cover are Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala.