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Mangrove forest

Only 20 kilometers away from the Kakinada beaches where the shipbreaking units are planned, stretches the second largest mangrove forest in India. Here the river Gaderu, a tributary to the Godavari River, meets the sea. Mangroves act as a buffer between fresh water and saline water. The Kakinada mangrove is one of the last remaining big united mangrove areas in South East Asia.

Crabs and monkeys
De swampy forests provide food and shelter to many fish and birds species, 50 types of crabs en at least 25 different mangrove plant species. The mangroves are very important spawning and nursery grounds for many varieties of fish and prawns. But the place is also a home to monkeys, sea otters, snakes and semi-wild water buffalos.

Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary
A part of this rich ecosystem south of Kakinada was declared as a sanctuary in 1978: Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary. It is renowned for its great variety of reptiles. In Coringa over 120 species of birds are reported.

Oil pollution
Shipbreaking means a serious threat to this mangrove area. Oil would be disastrous for the mangroves. The plants and trees breath from the roots. So they are very vulnerable for oil pollution. Continued loss of wetlands like these mangroves may lead to the collapse of coastal ecosystems.

Cyclones
Mangrove forests act as a barrier against cyclones, tropical storms and high tidal waves, thus protecting the villages and agricultural inlands. They also protect the coastline from erosion, temper the devastating effects of natural disasters and make the area able to recover.

Boat people
Mangroves yield highly valued products like fuel, fodder, honey and medicinal plants. The semi nomadic 'boat people' that live here fully depend on the mangrove forests. They collect shelves and bivalves for the lime industry. And the mangrove provides the boat people with medicines, timber and proteins. With the loss of the mangrove area they are doomed to disappear as well.