MANGROVES ARE IN DANGER ZONE

In general, mangroves are plants and shrubs (mangrove swamp and mangrove forest) that grow in saline coastal areas in the tropics and subtropics. The plants and shrubs are diverse, but all are able to adapt themselves physiologically to the existing local conditions such as saline water and fine sediments with high organic content. Once established, intricate root system of the mangrove plants provide a habitat for oysters and help to impede water flow, thereby enhancing the deposition of sediment in the areas.

In Asia, mangroves occur on the south coast of Asia, throughout the Indian subcontinent, in all the southeast Asian countries, and on islands in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and South China Sea. The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, located in the Ganges delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The plants are capable of absorbing a lot of energy from the powerful sea waves. Every one of us is aware that the towns in southern India which had good mangroves covers were not affected by the tsunami that devastated the eastern coastline during the year 2004.

In a typical Indian coastal state like Maharashtra (Mumbai is part of the state), it is reported that there are about 6000 hectares of mangroves spread across the state’s coast line. Following satellite mapping, about 2000 hectares (1 hectare = 10,000 square metres) of mangroves are notified as Protected Forests. Mumbai alone has more than 1500 hectares under mangroves. The Bombay High Court has put a ban on destroying mangroves for development purposes.

Various governmental agencies are aggressively trying to get exemption from the earlier stay granted by the High Court’s order not to destroy the mangroves. However, the environmentalists and public are worried that finally these exempted areas will be swallowed by the builder’s lobby for construction of exclusive towers facing the sea, and the protection provided by the mangroves against floods and tsunamis will not be available. The fate of about 4000 hectares is being decided by the Bombay High Court.

The threats of natural disasters are increasing due to global warming. In areas of the world where mangroves have been removed for development purposes, the disturbance of the underlying sediments often creates problems of trace metal contamination of seawater and extensive erosion of the land mass. That only means that the very mangroves which we are trying to destroy for development are required to save the proposed infrastructure and the buildings to be built on the land from floods and tsunamis! Let us all join hands to preserve the life-saving mangroves from extinction.

“No nukes for peace” – What it means?

This is a recent title appeared in one of the Indian widely circulated dailies, that too in the editorial page. There are many inconsistent and incorrect statements in the article. As per my learned and independent opinion, one should leave the national security and weapons mix-up to the Indian government to decide. I think that it should be a political decision keeping in mind the overall threat perception to the national security. With regard to nuclear disarmament, one can not fight countries having hundreds of Brammahstras with simple bow and arrows. One should remember the debacle and humiliation faced by India in the 1962 war with China.

In view of the Indian three stage nuclear power development program, the major part of the plutonium from the power reactor spent-fuel reprocessing needs to be deployed for the nuclear fuel manufacture for use in Fast Breeder Reactors. Use of plutonium in weapons is only one of the many applications.

The awareness amongst the public now is not that bad as to believe the author that nuclear power is a hazardous and accident prone energy source. One should discuss only with the numbers to prove the points. The statement: “Its radiation is an invisible but deadly poison” does not make any sense. Everybody knows that radiation is extensively used for medical applications to diagnose diseases and to treat cancer patients. In high exposure situations, everything is dangerous. Why only radiation?

Nuclear power has a bright future as a proved clean energy source. Japan, which suffered nuclear attacks in the past, is depending heavily on nuclear power. Everyone knows that coal-based power plants are highly polluting and one should be aware of the alarming global warming effects already felt and seen worldwide. Yes, the management of radioactive waste continues to be an emotional subject. It is proved beyond any doubt technically or otherwise that the waste can be safely managed. One can see that it is definitely managed far better and safely than the much more hazardous chemical and biological wastes.

With regard to the cost of power generation, if one adds up the cost of: controlling the deadly emissions from the coal-based plants, management of coal-ash and the coal transportation cost, the cost of power from the fusil fuel-based plants will be as much or more than the cost of nuclear power.

Yes, the percentage contribution of nuclear power is very small. With the Indo-US deal, the bottleneck of nuclear fuel shortage is likely to be solved. The existing reactors can run with full capacity, more and more of standardized 500/1000 MWe reactors can be quickly built / imported with Public Private Participation, supported of course by stringent regulations. To supplement nuclear power, let the government also work on war footing to develop the clean renewable sources such as wind, geothermal and solar power. There is an urgent need for arranging more and more awareness programs to sensitize the public with regards to the benefits and risks of radiation applications in a focused manner. The article shows that even the educated lot needs to be made aware of the facts so that such articles are not written out of ignorance.