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[edit] Godrej Industrial Garden Township Mangrove ecosystem

[edit] As in 2021

Dec 2, 2021: The Times of India

Situated in the heart of Mumbai, it's the city’s third-largest green belt after Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Aarey Colony
From: Dec 2, 2021: The Times of India

Mumbai harbours many secrets. One of them is a vibrant ecosystem spread over 2,000 acres. In fact, it is the city’s third-largest green belt after the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Aarey Colony, and nearly three times the size of New York's Central Park.

This well-secured, part swamp, part forest with its dense tangle of roots and branches snaking along the west bank of the Thane creek is Mumbai’s largest privately owned mangrove reserve — the Godrej Industrial Garden Township Mangrove ecosystem. At one end of Vikhroli off the Eastern Express highway, an arched gate opens out into the green maze.

Thousands pass by it every day, but 50% of Mumbaikars don’t seem to know about it, according to a recent study by Godrej & Boyce that surveyed how many people living in and around the city know about this delicate ecosystem in their midst.

“To our dismay, we found that only 50% of Mumbaikars — Thane and Navi Mumbai residents — were aware. Out of that only 34% understand its positive impact on a city like Mumbai,” rued Pheroza Godrej, who initiated a five-month-long ‘Magical Mangroves’ campaign in 2020 in collaboration with WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) to identify over 100 mangrove volunteers ready to commit their time towards mangrove conservation and inspire more to do the same.

A team from Mumbai Mirror was allowed access to this dynamic ecosystem of intertidal mangrove belt, looked after by the Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Foundation. The foundation was set up in 1985 when the Godrejs wanted to formalise their efforts to conserve this ecological oasis.

The Godrej family’s interest in environmental matters goes back to the founder of the group, Pirojsha Godrej, who acquired several hundred acres of land in1948 for setting up an industrial township. Realising the need to find a balance between industrial activities and nature, Pirojsha decided to let the mangroves be.

Pirojsha passed on his vision to his sons Burjor and Naval whose efforts at conservation led to the creation of the Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Foundation bringing the entire mangrove stretch across Vikhroli and Thane under the foundation’s direct supervision.

While the land was cordoned off to combat illegal logging of wood, it was made available to students, teachers, eco-activists, forest department officials, photographers and nature enthusiasts who frequent these saline woodlands to study biodiversity, mangrove management and pollution trends. In more recent times, a first-of-its-kind mobile app in 11 Indian languages on Vikhroli's mangrove ecosystem has further expanded access.

“During lockdown we remotely trained 80 youths in eight coastal states so they could train others to conserve mangroves in their respective states,” says Tejashree Joshi, head of environment and sustainability at Godrej & Boyce.

Taking in the sights and sounds at these saline woodlands on a Saturday morning, 72-year-old Pheroza Godrej says: “I try to come here once a week but the visual of this place is so implanted in my brain that whenever anyone tells me about something happening somewhere I always know which spot.”

“I was 20 when I saw a David Attenborough film about mangroves and what stuck is that all life begins in the ocean and what we see above the ocean begins here at the mangroves. This is the quiet link between the sea, ocean or water and terrestrial earth. Without it, we wouldn’t have evolved,” she says, contemplating ways to keep these coastal saltwater forests undisturbed. Today, even as the city reels under threats of industrial pollution, land reclamation and incessant felling of trees, this extensive root network of Pirojshanagar stands guard along the eastern shoreline, quietly weathering the force of cyclones and floods.

However, life in the mangroves is never really quiet. Their trunks and roots hanging in water along the creeks are home to 208 species of birds, 82 butterfly species, 31 reptile species, 4 mammal species, 22 fish species, 14 crab species, 7 prawn species, 79 spider species and more than 75 insect species.

“Apart from preventing soil erosion and flash floods or supporting flora and fauna, this mangrove — flanked by the Deonar and Kanjurmarg dumping grounds on either side — also accounts for huge carbon sequestration of around 60,000 equivalent tons of carbon dioxide every year,” says Joshi.

To watch over this watery carbon reservoir, an ‘environment cell’ was formed that over the years has had environmentalists and scientists like Salim Ali, A K Ganguly, H N Sethna and N Vasudevan overseeing the scientific management of the mangroves while a dedicated ‘Wetland Management Services’ steers the conservation initiatives.

“In our family, we have the tiger fanatics and water fanatics, but I try to remind everyone, ‘Where did they come from? Trees,” says Godrej, stressing that the mangroves alone cannot continue to shoulder the city’s ecological burden. “I’m a firm believer that not just in the mangroves but be it in your colony or your own house garden, let the trees be. They have a life and they will fall but till then let’s keep them safe.”

=Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary=


[edit] As in 2021

Alka Dhupkar, Dec 2, 2021: The Times of India

Bamboo walkway at Thane Creek . Photo by Raju Shinde: TIL
From: Alka Dhupkar, Dec 2, 2021: The Times of India

One of Mumbai’s biggest recreational open spaces is shaping up rather quietly around the Thane creek - a treasure trove of marine life known so far to most Mumbaikars only as a water body that they crossed when leaving town. But it may not remain a not-so-closely-guarded secret for long.

The Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) - spread across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai – has welcomed 11,000 visitors in just the past two-and-a-half months. Compare this to the numbers for 2017-18, when in the entire year the sanctuary saw only 7,678 visitors.

A lot has happened since May 10, 2018, when the Flamingo Sanctuary was notified under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. A coastal and marine biodiversity centre is in place at Airoli, where interactive sessions educate visitors about the Thane creek’s rich flora and fauna. You can walk through the mangroves on a raised bamboo walkway. Two boats are in place at the Airoli jetty for flamingo tours. There are two towers for bird watchers and more are being constructed. And while an expansion of the jetty is proposed, fishermen may also be soon licensed to carry tourists into the creek from the Bhandup Pumping Station end of the sanctuary.

The sanctuary owes its birth to the shock of the July 2005 floods in Mumbai that left 546 people dead in the city. Ruling on a bunch of petitions filed in the aftermath of the tragedy, the Bombay High Court ordered measures for preventing further destruction of the city’s mangroves and called for implementation of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and the Coastal Regulation Zone notification of 1991. That crisis of 2005 led to the creation of one of Mumbai’s biggest open spaces.

Until recently, the city had only two protected green zones – the Sanjay Gandhi National Park spread over 28,367 acres, and the Aarey colony stretching over 3,500 acres. The Flamingo Sanctuary with an expanse of 4,190 acres now becomes the second largest open space in Mumbai. It boasts of 2,214 acres of mangroves and a 1,962-acre creek. The sanctuary's 'management plan' has proposed a spend of Rs 100 crore over the next ten years to create various facilities for the visitors and other developments.

The sanctuary sits just 5 to 10 meters above the sea level and is home to 12 true mangrove species and 39 associate species, 167 species of birds, 45 species of fish, 59 species of butterflies and 67 species of insects. The creek’s biggest source of fresh water is the Ulhas river and numerous drainage channels from suburban Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. The Arabian Sea is its sole source of saline water.

Vasu Kokare, Range Forest Officer , TCFS, said the sanctuary routinely conducts workshops with the fisher folk from the and researchers for marine bio-diversity development. The marine biodiversity centre at Airoli has an interactive system for visitors to identify and understand the creek’s flora and fauna. It also has interactive displays about birds, their calls, pictures and peculiarities. “A museum of marine animals called ‘Giants of the seas’ has also been proposed,” he said.

The sanctuary has not escaped the legitimate environmental concerns that follow the opening of any forest for visitors. Nandakumar Pawar of Shri Ekvira Pratishtan has raised questions about the sanctuary’s pollution management plan as the number of visitors grows. His other concern is about the increasing siltation that is leading to undesired growth of mangroves and consequently to the loss of foraging area for birds. “The notification of the area as a sanctuary and budgetary provisions are welcome. But have you seen the quality of water and how bad it smells? If we don’t do something urgently to restore the quality, the marine bio-diversity of the creek will be badly hit,” Pawar said, adding that the urbanisation and growth of industries along the creek are to be blamed for the rapid deterioration.

Mangroves provide protection from floods and other natural disasters and as per Bombay HC order no mangrove can be uprooted without the court’s permission

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (mangrove cell) and an ex-officio executive director of the State Mangrove Foundation Virendra Tiwari accepted that pollution management will be a challenge. “A study conducted by the Mangroves Foundation has revealed that the load of effluents, sewage and garbage dumping has deteriorated the creek and allied biodiversity significantly and it is essential to restore and revive the ecosystem. The agencies concerned are being informed,” Tiwari added.

About the unwanted growth of mangroves, he said: “Mangroves provide protection from floods and other natural disasters and as per Bombay HC order no mangrove can be uprooted without the court’s permission. We are planning to file a petition requesting permission to uproot a number of mangroves which have grown after 2015 in the sanctuary.”

The sanctuary’s management feels that greater awareness about its bio-diversity among common people will provide greater protection to it. “The growing number of visitors is a good sign. They all become stakeholders in the sanctuary’s wellbeing,” said a senior forest officer who did not wish to be identified.

This correspondent met Dr Rajib Kar, who works at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Dr Sucharita Kundu, a clinical psychologist, at the sanctuary. They had enjoyed the morning watching sunrise in the company of flamingos at the Bhandup Pumping Station end of the sanctuary and were planning to spend the rest of the day at the Airoli centre. “Incredible experience. Never ever did we imagine we will find such natural beauty within Mumbai,” said Dr Kar.

The sanctuary is home to 167 species of birds

Ashok Narkar who recently shifted to Airoli from Bhandup, visited the centre with his grandchildren. “Many people don’t know about this place and we should spread the word. This sanctuary is not only for recreation, it also informs us and creates awareness,” Narkar said.

Chhatrapati Shiva ji Maharaj International Airport is approximately 25 km from the sanctuary. Nahur, Thane and Airoli are the three nearest railway stations. The sanctuary is also accessible by road.

The Mangrove Foundation has already drawn up estimates of the rise in the number of visitors over the next couple of years. It is already working on placing restrictions on the number boats that can enter the sanctuary on any given day.

Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary

4,190 acres: Notified area

39 associate mangrove species

59 species of butterflies

35 species of phytoplankton

24 species of Zooplankton