At a Glance
Four numbers behind India’s mangrove picture.
4,991.68 sq km
India’s total mangrove cover per ISFR 2023, across 12 states and union territories.
42.45%
West Bengal’s share, the largest. Gujarat has 23.66% and Andaman & Nicobar 12.39%.
1,000 to 3,000+ ha
Gulf of Kutch cover grew from the 1980s to today, a restoration success.
-7.43 sq km
The national cover shrank slightly between the 2021 and 2023 surveys.
In this lesson
Three Key Sites, and National Coverage
Bhitarkanika, Pichavaram, and the Gulf of Kutch
- Bhitarkanika, in Odisha, is home to 63 mangrove species. It shelters the world’s largest recorded population of saltwater crocodiles. They use the dense root maze as cover to ambush prey.
- Pichavaram, in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district, is one of the world’s largest mangrove forests. Aquaculture ponds and salt pans have degraded parts of it. Farmers cleared roots to dig shrimp ponds.
- Gulf of Kutch, in Gujarat, is one of India’s clearest restoration success stories. Cover grew from around 1,000 hectares in the 1980s to over 3,000 hectares today. Deliberate replanting can work at scale.
- Per ISFR 2023, West Bengal holds the largest share of mangrove cover at 42.45%. Gujarat follows at 23.66%, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands at 12.39%. Together, these three hold over three-quarters of the national cover.
- India’s total mangrove cover is 4,991.68 sq km across 12 states and union territories. So the “just the Sundarbans” picture undersells how widespread this ecosystem is.
True or False: Bhitarkanika, in Odisha, shelters the world’s largest recorded population of saltwater crocodiles.
True or False: Pichavaram, one of the world’s largest mangrove forests, is in Odisha.
The Bigger Picture, and Why Mangroves Grow Where They Do
A shrinking total, salt-tolerant plants, and the MISHTI scheme
- Other significant mangrove areas include the Godavari-Krishna delta in Andhra Pradesh and stretches of Kerala’s coast.
- ISFR 2023 recorded India’s total mangrove cover shrinking by 7.43 sq km compared to 2021. Most individual states saw gains even as the national total fell. That mismatch is a warning sign.
- Gujarat lost 36.39 sq km of mangrove cover in that same period. It did so while holding the second-largest share overall. A big headline number can mask real loss.
- Mangroves are halophytes. Most land plants can’t handle that much salt, so mangroves have this coastline mostly to themselves.
- They root into soft, waterlogged mudflats. Their pneumatophores poke above the mud. These roots let the plant breathe, since the soil around its main roots has almost no oxygen.
- The MISHTI scheme funds large-scale mangrove plantation along the coast and on salt pan lands. It was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 and launched on 5 June 2023. It cites mangroves’ storm-shield and carbon-storage role. By September 2026, Gujarat had planted mangroves on 27,000 hectares in Kutch under MISHTI. Its target is 29,000 hectares.
- The Sundarbans is the region most directly at risk from a one-metre sea-level rise. It is a low-lying delta that sits barely above sea level. Mangrove restoration is its main shield.
True or False: India’s total mangrove cover grew between the 2021 and 2023 ISFR surveys.
True or False: Mangroves are halophytes, salt-tolerant plants that can survive where seawater and freshwater mix.
True or False: The MISHTI scheme was formally launched on 5 June 2023 to fund large-scale mangrove plantation.
Previous Year Questions
A trap examiners keep returning to: mangroves protect coasts and store carbon. They don’t store freshwater for paddy fields.
- UPSC Mains 2019GS Paper I asked for the causes of mangrove depletion and their coastal importance. Those are the two threads this article covers. View this Mains question.
- UPSC CSP 2026Asked which statements best explain the rationale for protecting mangroves for climate resilience. The correct answer is statement 3 only: dense roots dissipate storm-surge energy. The paddy-cultivation statement is the trap. View this question.
- UPSC CSP 2015Asked which region has mangrove, evergreen, and deciduous forest together. The answer is the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in distinct zones. View this question on the full 2015 paper.
- CAPF 2018Tested four statements on mangrove sites. The correct answer is 2, 3 and 4 only, per the official UPSC answer key. Mudflats, sheltered inter-tidal coasts, and coverage in every coastal state are correct. View this question on the full 2018 paper.
True or False: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the only Indian region with mangrove, evergreen, and deciduous forest together in distinct zones.
Contrasts, and Restoration
Two trajectories, one restoration success
- Bhitarkanika and Pichavaram show two opposite trajectories under similar pressures. One stays biodiverse and largely intact. The other has degraded under human land-use change. Protection alone doesn’t guarantee the same outcome everywhere.
- State-wise statistics can mislead. Gujarat’s high share coexists with a net loss in the latest survey. Aggregate numbers can hide a declining trend.
- The Gulf of Kutch’s tripling of cover shows restoration is achievable at real scale. It came from decades of sustained replanting on salt-affected coastal land.
- Mangroves everywhere serve the same core functions: storm-surge protection, fish-nursery habitat, and carbon storage. Losing any one site is a national loss, not just a local one.
- Converting mangrove forest into paddy fields or shrimp ponds is a real driver of loss. It is not a resilience strategy. Mangroves don’t store freshwater, so treating them as spare farmland destroys the shield they provide.
True or False: Gujarat held the second-largest share of India’s mangrove cover in ISFR 2023, yet lost 36.39 sq km in the same period.
True or False: Converting mangrove forest into shrimp aquaculture ponds is a resilience strategy that strengthens the coastal shield.
Think it through: how can Gujarat have a high share of mangrove cover and a net loss at the same time?
A state’s share is a snapshot of cover built up over decades, including the Gulf of Kutch’s restoration. A net loss means new clearing outpaced new growth in one survey window. The two facts describe different timeframes, so neither contradicts the other.
Quick Q&A
Which animal does Bhitarkanika shelter in record numbers?
Saltwater crocodiles, the world’s largest recorded population.
Which state holds the largest share of India’s mangrove cover?
West Bengal, at 42.45% per ISFR 2023.
How much did Gulf of Kutch mangrove cover grow?
From about 1,000 hectares in the 1980s to over 3,000 today.
What are pneumatophores?
Aerial roots that let mangroves breathe in oxygen-poor mud.
Which scheme funds mangrove plantation, launched 5 June 2023?
MISHTI.
🎲 Practice: Mangrove Forests of India
7 verified questions from this topic.
Question 1 of 1
Question 1 of 1
Question 1 of 1
Question 1 of 1
Question 1 of 1
Question 1 of 1
Question 1 of 1
Leave a Reply