Professor K. Kathiresan visited the mangrove restoration project sites of NEWS in Karaikal

Professor K. Kathiresan, a eminent scientist in the field of mangrove ecology, visited the mangrove restoration project sites of NEWS in Karaikal, Puducherry Union Territory, and Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, on April 22nd and 23rd, 2024. The project team, led by Ms. Ajanta Dey, engaged in detailed discussions with Prof. Kathiresan about the challenges encountered during the mangrove plantation and monitoring phases.

During the interactive sessions, Prof. Kathiresan thoroughly reviewed the mangrove restoration activities undertaken at these sites. In consultation with the project team members, he provided essential suggestions to address the issues observed during his field visit. These issues included overgrown salt marsh grasses, poor flowering in mangroves, low seed availability, pest attacks, spider webs on emerging saplings, and low sapling survival rates. To address the problem of poor flowering and pest attacks in the mangroves, Prof. Kathiresan recommended the use of “Panchkavya.” He also emphasized the importance of developing a robust baseline dataset for the mangrove plantation sites for documentation purposes through continuous monitoring of mangrove performance in the field. Prof. Kathiresan also met with the officials from ONGC, Karaikal. and other district officers from various departments related to the project.

This was followed by a fruitful exposure visit to the beautiful natural mangrove forests at Pazhayar and Pichavaram on 24th April 2024. The purpose of this visit was to study the phenological variations of mangroves between the project sites and natural ones and to explore the possibilities of procuring mangrove planting materials.

Prof. Kathiresan concluded his visit by appreciating NEWS’ hard work in restoring mangroves, highlighting its significance for the socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability of coastal regions………..