Bøger af Abhijit Mitra

This book covers several innovative alternative livelihoods based on mangrove floral resources with their respective SWOT analysis. True mangrove flora and their associates in Indian Sundarbans are noted for their wide spectrum of ecosystem services in which livelihoods of the region are one of the most important components. Many alternative mangrove-centric livelihoods are in the pipeline of startup. However, due to difficulty in marketing and lack of clarity over ownership of natural resources, the values of the mangrove-based products have not been fully realized. Natural resources of several categories in Indian Sundarbans like oysters, seaweeds, medicinal mangrove flora, vitamin-rich mangrove fruits, etc. are still lying untapped. These untapped resources have been spun with the livelihood sectors of the Sundarban people backed up with sound business models to make the venture sustainable. The carbon foot prints associated with each of these livelihoods have been studied in details and steps have been suggested for net zero carbon livelihood programmes along with their sustainability. The book provides the readers about several mangrove-based cutting-edge researches and technologies in the domain of climate resilient livelihood, which if implemented can lead to food and economic security of the region.

It is not the agenda of policy makers, but the real life story of common mass - the story of environmental pollution, the story of CO2 hike and subsequent rise of atmospheric temperature. The other day we were passing through Kolkata, where we saw a rickshaw puller pulling goods in a pitiable condition. He was coughing, sweating, and feeling constant irritation in his eyes. With his dwindling and unstable steps, he was desperately trying to reach the destination. We do not know how long this poor fellow will strive for survival, but we are cent-percent sure that these symptoms will affect us soon, and our grandchildren within a much shorter period. What is our fate then? Is there any solution to this problem right at this moment with our very limited financial resources? We confidently say, "Yes" - and the mechanism is very simple - just plant trees - and make a small natural tank for CO2 storage. Another important step to fight against this pollution problem is to develop awareness on environment, its constituents, composition and dynamics among people of all ranks of the society. This book is an approach towards this direction. Written in a very simple language with very easy science behind every causes stated in each chapter of the book, we hope that the readers of this book will certainly follow the track of caring climate, environment and people with the tunes of conservation and sustainability.

If anybody ever happens to visit a coastal area or estuarine stretch, unique vegetation at the land - sea interface is observed with some peculiar features like pneumatophores, stilt roots, viviparous germination etc. These are called mangroves. Mangroves stepped on this blue planet about 114 million years ago in the Indo-Malaysian area and later spread to other regions of the tropics. Due to their peculiar reproductive strategy of viviparous germination, propagules dropped from their mother plants and floated in the aquatic phase and gradually swayed to America, reached at Central and South America during the Cretaceous period and lower Miocene epoch between 66 and 23 million years ago. Today, the best habitat of mangroves is the Indo-Pacific region. The distribution and population of mangroves are governed by tides and more specifically the salinity. The trees are very choosy in selecting their own salinity range. A high saline zone will hardly be the best survival ground of Heritiera fomes or Sonneratia apetala, but one can find Rhizophora in regions of greater salinity.The mangrove ecosystem offers several ecosystem services, which are essential to run the wheel of civilization as well as to support the livelihood of people living and dependent on the coastal resources. The conservation of mangroves is fundamental to all marine biological processes, for maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystems and for primary and secondary productions that support human needs. Competition for limited resources has intensified with human population growth in coastal regions and the diversion of mangroves for economic activities and livelihoods has been experienced globally. It is important to state that such threatened ecosystems can no longer provide their optimum biological functions and regulate services that sustain coastal economic production and livelihoods. Today the rapid pace of urbanization, intense industrial activities, aquaculture and unplanned tourism has deteriorated the mangrove ecosystem to a great extent. We are not very much aware of the loss we will face in future not only in terms of fishery, timber, honey, wax and various economically important products, but also in terms of ecosystem stability, protection against sea level rise and erosion, natural disaster etc. The present book has critically presented the data bank for each type of mangrove resources not merely in the form of text description, but also through case studies that are the outcomes of research projects and pilot programmes carried out in different parts of the world. For a long time there was a need felt for this type of book on mangroves and more specifically Sundarban mangroves for common people. This would reduce the communication gap at different levels. Hence while writing this book we tried to by-pass hard core scientific terminologies, concepts and models related to mangroves. We hope that the present book would answer at least some of the doubts of common readers on this unique halophytic vegetation of the planet Earth.

This book examines the impacts that the COVID-19 lockdown has had on environmental and ecological health, with a focus on coastal ecosystems in the Lower Gangetic Delta. The book begins with an overview of COVID-19's spread and impact before and after the lockdown in the focus region, then addresses the specific impacts that the lockdown period had and continues to have on air quality, marine and estuarine water quality, coastal biodiversity, and the livelihoods of the region's inhabitants, especially those who live below the poverty line. The decrease in human activity combined with the complete closure of various sectors, including air travel, oil and gas drilling, and construction, has had a pronounced effect on biodiversity and overall environmental health that is yet to be fully realized. The book sheds light on these changes and assesses how biodiversity, ambient air quality, and ecosystem functioning will progress as COVID-19 remains a threat and the lockdown persists. The studywill be of interest to researchers, government officials and professionals dealing with disaster management, environmental science, biological science, and health.

This book provides a cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary assessment of the major verticals of Blue Economy relevant to the mangrove ecosystem in Indian Sundarbans, which is a deltaic complex at the apex of Bay of Bengal. This book evaluates the feasibility of Blue Economy considering the natural resource base in this mangrove dominated deltaic complex.Chapter 1 discusses the need of expanding different marine and estuarine oriented verticals of Blue Economy as the land resources are gradually becoming depleted. Chapter 2 highlights the wide spectrum of biotic and abiotic resources of the Indian Sundarbans which can serve as the strong foundation of expanding Blue Economy in the region. Chapter 3 highlights several mangrove based livelihoods that are not only innovative, but may present new opportunities to initiate cottage industries. Chapter 4 highlights the threats associated with Blue Economy in Indian Sundarbans like, sea level rise, acidification of water, weather extremes, pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources, etc., along with ground-zero environmental data collated over three decades. Chapter 5 offers several solutions to combat the threats to regional Blue Economy emphasizing both technology and policy based management. The book attempts to align the proliferation of different sectors of Blue Economy in the framework of Indian Sundarbans.

Readers will discover critical aspects of the chemistry of the estuarine water (particularly that of Hooghly and Matla estuaries) in the lower stretch of the delta region along with the causes and effects of pollution in and around this region.

This is the first comprehensive science-based primer to highlight the unique ecosystem services provided by mangrove forests, and discuss how these services preserve the livelihoods of coastal populations.

Readers will discover critical aspects of the chemistry of the estuarine water (particularly that of Hooghly and Matla estuaries) in the lower stretch of the delta region along with the causes and effects of pollution in and around this region.

The book presents recent research on marine ecology in different parts of the world. Four major ecosystem service categories have been identified within this context, namely provisioning services such as water, food, mangrove timber, honey, fish, wax, fuel wood, fodder and bioactive compounds from marine and estuarine flora and fauna;

Blue Carbon Reservoir of the Blue Planet

This book examines the vulnerability of climate change on mangrove flora and fauna as well as their role in carbon sequestration. It details the role of mangroves in mitigating natural disaster like tsunamis. Includes case studies from around the world.