Feature story - October 17, 2007
KOLKATA, India — Sinking my hands into the Sundarbans, planting mangroves, I give thanks for the feeling of muddy earth between my fingers. The zodiacs landed us on the beach at first light to join a team planting 8000 mangrove saplings at low tide. Sagar Island was once a mangrove forest but there are only a few thickets left and an increasing occurrence of tidal surges is eroding the island. 15% of the Sundarbans will be gone in just 10 years. By the end of this century, between West Bengal and Bangladesh, erosion and rising sea levels will cause the displacement of 28 million people.
Captain of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior lends a helping hand in planting mangroves at Sundarbans.
By rehabilitating mangroves forests the islands are more
protected from erosion. But mangroves are green and they sequester
carbon from the atmosphere - in this way they act as a solution to
the problem of climate change. I hold each mangrove in the palms of
my hands - into it I place a little prayer - and then I stick it in
the mud.