Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Threats to Blue Carbon Reservoir
…
The blue carbon is under threat
Let us seek the conservation gate
…
The Authors
The reservoir of blue carbon is perhaps the most
valuable of all natural assets as it is not only the
source of several bioactive molecules to run the
wheel of human civilization smoothly, but also is
the source of future fuel and energy. Several
ecosystem services of blue carbon are still under
the carpet. How many of us know that silver
nanoparticles can even be synthesized from the
extracts of seaweeds such as
for aquaculture (IUCN
1989
; Secretariat
2001
;
Valiela et al.
2001
). Between 56 and 75 % of
different Asian mangroves have been lost during
the twentieth century. This is primarily due to
overuse and conversion for aquaculture (Prima-
vera
1997
; Smith et al.
2001
). There are roughly
17 million ha of mangroves worldwide (Valiela
et al.
2001
; FAO
2003
). The global average annual
rate of mangrove loss is about 2.1 %, exceeding
the rate of loss of tropical rainforests (0.8 %)
(Valiela et al.
2001
; Wells
2006
). In some regions,
natural factors such as massive siltation and rise of
salinity (resulting from tectonic shift) have also
reduced the growth of mangroves as seen in cen-
tral sector of Indian Sundarbans (Mitra et al.
2011
;
Sengupta et al.
2013
; Banerjee et al.
2013
). The
mangrove trees in the central Indian Sundarbans
have become considerably stunted owing to
hypersalinity.
The blue carbon reservoir also experiences
human-induced threats such as cutting of coastal
vegetation for fuel and fodder, absence of natural
regeneration, poor growth and survival due to
decreased freshwater
Sargassum plagio-
phyllum
,
Ulva reticulata
and
Enteromorpha
compressa
?
The blue carbon community such as man-
groves acts as the primary line of defence against
natural calamities such as tidal surges, cyclone
and wave actions. Some species of salt marsh
grass (such as
) stabilize a
newly formed island in the estuaries or river
mouth. Threats to such a super-priced natural
vault and its subsequent destruction may pose a
negative effect on mankind, if not proper care
and measures are taken in right time with high
precision.
It
Porteresia coarctata
cult to segregate the natural- and
human-induced threats on coastal ecosystems as
both of them go hand in hand. Often the threats are
synergistic in nature. The example of deterioration
of mangrove vegetation is very relevant in this
context. The cumulative effects of natural and
anthropogenic pressures make mangrove wet-
lands one of the most threatened natural commu-
nities worldwide. Roughly, 50%of the global area
has been lost since 1900 and 35 % of the global
area has been lost in the past two decades, pri-
marily due to human activities such as conversion
is dif
ow (which may be due to
construction of dam in the upstream zone) and
clearance of large tracts of mangrove forests for
development activities. It has already been stated
that the domain of threats on blue carbon com-
munity is full of
fl
'
noise
'
and it is extremely dif-
cult to isolate the natural causes from the
articial causes from this noisy matrix. However,
for the convenience of the readers, we have
attempted to segregate the natural threats from
the anthropogenic in
fl
uences.
