-The Hindu In an effort to restore the unique ecosystem of the Sundarbans, the SAIME initiative has shrimp cultivators tending to mangroves around their farms as well A new initiative of sustainable shrimp cultivation provides hope for mangrove restoration in Sundarbans. For several years, environmentalists and experts have expressed concerns over unsustainable aquaculture, particularly shrimp collection, after cleaning large tracts of mangrove forests in Sunderbans. Under the initiative, Sustainable Aquaculture In Mangrove Ecosystem...

-The Telegraph Amplifying the capacity of mangroves as bio-shields against extreme events possibly helped Bengal tap into MGNREGA funds Within weeks of the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004, I was watching video clips of the event at the Choto Mollakhali market in the Gosaba block of South 24 Parganas. One message that came through these video clips was that fewer lives were lost where there was coastal vegetation. This positively...

-Mongabay/ Scroll.in Grasses can boost mangrove restoration by strengthening erosion-riddled and nutrient-deficient patches in the region. Baby mangroves with leathery leaves peep out through lush meadows of grass that greet the Bay of Bengal. Soon enough these densely clumped blades and tufts of salt-tolerant grasses, in a degraded patch in the Indian Sundarbans, will fix the erosion-riddled saltmarsh to aid mangroves to expand their turf. “As they change the sea-soaked soil for the better...

-The Telegraph There is no escaping climate crisis, but concerted efforts may ensure loss of life is minimum The Sunderbans in West Bengal, along with several districts in Odisha and Tamil Nadu, are the most vulnerable to high storm surges induced by cyclones, according to the Climate Hazards and Vulnerability Atlas of India released by the ministry of earth sciences recently. The atlas aims to help mitigate the effects of the 13...

-The Hindu The findings will play a key role in developing drought and salt-tolerant food crops for the 7,500 km long Indian coastline. CUDDALORE: A group of researchers from the Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai; Centre for Advanced Studies in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University and Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, have for the first time identified a reference-grade whole genome sequence of...