![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
An Assessment of Mangrove Management during the Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods
Mangroves of the east coast of India were brought under intensive management by the colonial authorities during the late 19th century. They were treated as forests rather than as wetlands, and hence management procedures developed for the terrestrial forests were applied to mangroves. Apart from this, the British foresters had limited mangrove tree mensuration data. This inadequacy in data led to the application of inappropriate silviculture methods such as clear felling to harvest mangrove wood products. This method triggered a chain reaction, that changed the biophysical condition of the clear-felled areas, which in turn prevented the regeneration of mangrove species. The same silvicultural system was followed during the post-colonial period leading to extensive degradation of mangroves.
Keywords
Biophysical Changes, Clear Felling, Forestry Management, Large-scale Degradation, Mangroves.
User
Font Size
Information
- Anon., Mangrove forest management guidelines, FAO Forestry Paper 117, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy, 1994, p. 319.
- Englefield, H. C., Dyce, W., Gregson, M., Gill, T., Howison, J. and Machlachlan, J., Papers in Chemistry. Trans. R. Soc. Encourage. Arts, Manuf Commerce, 1804, 22, 141–218.
- Belfour, E., The Timber Trees. Timber and Fancy Woods of India and Eastern and Southern India, Higginbotham and Co, Madras, 1870, p. 370.
- Watt, G., A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, Department of Revenue and Agriculture, Government of India, Calcutta, 1890, p. 337.
- Haeuber, R., Indian forest policy in two eras: continuity or change? Environ. Hist. Rev., 1993, 17, 49–76.
- Guha, R., Forestry in British and post-British India: a historical analysis. Econ. Polit. Wkly, 1983, 18, 1882–1896.
- Rengarajan, M., Imperial agendas and India’s forests: the early history of Indian forestry, 1800–1870. Indian Econ. Soc. Hist. Rev., 1994, 32, 147–167.
- Stebbing, E. P., The Forests of India Vol. I, John Land the Bodley Head Limited, London, UK, 1922, p. 548.
- Cleghorn, H., Forbes, R., Smith, B. and Strachey, R., Report of the Committee by the British Association to Consider the Probable Effects of Economical and Physical Point of View of the Destruction of Tropical Forests. British Association for the Advancement of Science, London, UK, 1852, p. 26.
- Preseler, F., Forest management in the Sundarbans, 1875–1952. In Proceedings of the International Workshop on The Commons in South Asia: Societal Pressures and Environmental Integrity in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA, 1991.
- Guha, R., An early environmental debate: the making of the 1878 Forest Act. Indian Econ. Soc. Hist. Rev., 1990, 27, 65–84.
- Ribbentrop, B., Forestry in British India, Government of India Press, Calcutta, 1900, p. 245.
- Pargiter, F. E., A Revenue History of the Sundarbans from 1765 to 1870, Bengal Secretariat Press, Calcutta, 1885, p. 318.
- Cleghorn, H., The Forests and Gardens of South India, W. H. Allen and Co, London, UK, 1861, p. 401.
- Hunter, W. W., Statistical Account of the Districts of the 24 Parganas and the Sundarbans, Trubner and Co, London, UK, 1875, p. 389.
- Hossain, S. S., The Completion Report of Survey and Settlement for Kanika Estate, Bengal Secretariat Press, Calcutta, 1895, p. 165.
- Schlich, W., Remarks on the Sunderbans. Indian For, 1876, 1, 6–11.
- Anon., Annual Administration Report of the Forest Department of Madras Presidency for the year 1900–01, Government Press, Madras 1901, p. 77.
- Hemingway, F. R., Madras Districts Gazetteers: Godavari, Government Press, Madras, 1907, p. 288.
- Qureshi, M., Botanical and silvicultural features of mangrove features. In Proceedings of the Mangrove Symposium, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Government of India (GoI), Calcutta, 1957.
- Rao, V. S., Mangrove forests and the problems of reclaiming saline blanks. In Proceedings of the Mangrove Symposium, MoFA, GoI, Calcutta, 1957.
- Curtis, S. J., Working Plan for the Forests of Sundarbans Division 1931–1951, Bengal Government Press, Calcutta, 1931, p. 175.
- Cornwell, R. B., Working Plan for the Godavari Lower Division 1934–1944, Government Press, Madras, 1937.
- Mathuada, G. S., The mangroves of India. In Proceedings of the Mangrove Symposium, MoFA, GoI, Calcutta, 1957.
- Anon., Annual Administration Report of the Forest Department, Madras Presidency for the year 1894–95, Government Press, Madras, 1896, p. 340.
- Gadgil, M. and Guha, R., This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2013, p. 241.
- Karunakaran, M. S., Working Plan for the Thanjavur Forest Division 1971–1981, Forest Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, 1971, p. 347.
- Allen, A. S., Types of land subsidence. In Guidebook to Study Land Subsidence due to Groundwater Withdrawal (ed. Polland, J. F.), UNESCO, Paris, France, 1984, pp. 133–142.
- USDA, Soil Survey Manual, United States Department of Agriculture Handbook No.18, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington DC, USA, 1995.
- Stephens, J. C. and Speir, W. H., Subsidence of organic soils in the USA. In Land Subsidence (ed. Tison, L. J.), International Association Science Hydrology Publication No. 89, USA, 1969, pp. 523–534.
- Selvam, V., Ravichandaran K. K., Gnanappazham, L. and Navamunnyamal, N., Assessment of community-based restoration of Pichavaram mangrove wetland using remote sensing data. Curr. Sci., 2003, 86, 794–798.
- MSSRF, The Mangrove Decade Beyond: Activities, Lessons and Challenges in Mangrove Conservation and Management 1991– 2001, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, 2003, p. 40.
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/abstractview.png)
Abstract Views: 284
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/pdfview.png)
PDF Views: 96