New Delhi : As the morning tide gently laps against the shores of Navghar, Vandana Patil steps onto the damp earth of her village’s coastline. She recalls a time when the sea was generous, offering abundant crab and fish catch. But over the years, that generosity faded. "Earlier, we used to see unpredictable crab and fish catch and had to rely on other sources of livelihoods," she says, her voice carrying the weight of years spent worrying about an uncertain future.
The culprit was clear: the unchecked destruction of mangroves. The towering green guardians of the coastline had been silently disappearing, their roots no longer anchoring the land, their dense canopies no longer sheltering marine life. With every tree lost, so too was a piece of the community’s livelihood. Yet, many in Navghar remained unaware of the deep connection between the mangroves and their survival.
Change arrived in the form of a far-reaching initiative. The Government of India, in collaboration with the Green Climate Fund and UNDP, launched a project to enhance climate resilience in India's coastal communities. This initiative, operational across three coastal states-Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha focused on conserving and restoring marine ecosystems, including mangroves, while creating climate-resilient livelihoods.
Navghar became a symbol of this transformation. In 2021, the project formed a Mangrove Co-Management Committee, bringing together village members, the Gram Panchayat, and women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Their mission was twofold: protect the mangroves and revive local livelihoods. Women, often the most affected by economic instability, were placed at the forefront.
Through structured training, they learned sustainable crab farming techniques, creating new livelihood groups like Healthy Harvest and Wild Crab Aqua Farm. These groups now farm mud crabs over two acres of coastal land while ensuring the protection of mangroves from illegal cutting. The impact was immediate.
“Through our campaigns and drives, we have raised awareness about mangroves and their link to healthy fish catch and livelihoods,” explains Rohan Patil, president of the committee. “People no longer see them as just trees—they see them as protectors.”
By 2023, the once-barren coastline had transformed. The mangroves stood tall, shielding the land from erosion and storms, while the waters teemed with life again. The benefits extended beyond the environment. “The project helped us a lot,” Vandana shares. “Earlier, women worked only seasonally. Now, we have employment throughout the year. Besides, earlier we had to travel far and wide for crab farming; now, we can do it locally.”