The current CD-ROM on "Mangroves of India" collates taxonomy, morphology, sysematics, bio-geography and related information for each of the 60 odd species of mangrove and their associated flora found in India. 

The health and productivity of the coastal area is at present a matter of concern throughout the world. Pressure on the littoral lands, on the marine coastal waters and on the brackish waters of lagoons, deltas and estuaries is greater now than ever before in the history of Planet Earth. Mangrove ecosystem occupy the intertidal belt of the tropical and sub-tropical coastal zones and are or were found all along the Indian sub-continent, from the dry areas of Gujarat in the west to the extensive wet mangrove forests of Bengal in the east. 

Mangrove trees, shrubs and Nypa palm grow where nothing else can grow and only relatively few species of flowering plants, ferns, algae, fungi, bacteria and lichens can colonize successfully the muddy soils alternately covered and uncovered by tidal waters. The mangrove fauna includes the same aquatic species tolerant of brackish waters, such as those that inhabit estuaries, deltas and coastal lagoons. All these animal species and the very few that are restricted to the mangrove ecosystem are tolerant of varying environmental conditions; they grow on and in trees, on and in the mud and in the waters of mangroves; many other nest regularly occupy or visit the canopy of trees, such as bats, birds, insects, spiders. Species of the fauna may be residents, sessile or not, or they may be migrant species or occasional visitors. The mangrove ecosystem is usually highly productive in terms of forest products, from timber to minor products such as dyes and chemicals, medicines, as well as water and mud products such as many edible species among fish, molluscs, crustaceans and others. 

Because of high temperature and input of different nutrients from fresh and from marine waters, the turnover rate of plant and animal species is fast. The most important primary producers are the trees of the forest, however details of the structure and dynamics of the ecosystem vary widely from place to place and grove. The species composition of the vegetation depends on the tidal regime and amplitude, of the slope of the coastal plain, of salinity and temperature of both surface and ground water, of pluviometry, winds, total solar radiation, cloud cover, monsoons, water currents and waves, cyclones, tidal bores and other climate and environmental factors. Different types of pollution are at present factors that influence strongly the physiography and productivity of mangroves. 

The mangroves of India vary from dry scrubby forests with considerable underground biomass, along the Saurashtra coast, to the magnificent tall forests of Orissa and Bengal, or the Andaman and Nicobar islands. There are just narrow belts, or extensive plains covered by mangrove vegetation; there are highly productive backwaters and lagoons mangroves partially or totally converted to other uses for man’s convenience and there are others that have been managed wisely over the centuries, like the Kerala backwaters, and other lagoons along the Indian coasts and there are everywhere areas totally or only partially damaged by man’s impact. Some of the latter may be recoverable, while other areas may have become deserts after the mangroves were totally felled. No other plants thrive where mangroves can grow. There probably are no place where it would be impossible to reconstitute the mangrove ecosystem but in many places this could be very costly in terms of time and money. Amongst the most serious hazards to the mangroves and greatest danger to man is pollution due to natural and man-made causes. The most damaging of all pollution's is that caused by heavy metals. Most heavy metals tend to accumulate in edible bivalve molluscs and are most often caused by mining or industrial wastes carried downstream by runoff from land. 

The best course of action is to monitor the quality of edible species regularly and to manage wisely the mangrove ecosystem according to what has been called eco-eco-use and management that is inevitably different from place to place because of different environmental conditions and various degrees and nature of pollutants. Eco-eco-management means ecologically sound and economically profitable sustainable use and management of an ecosystem. This is the only way to manage rationally any ecosystem, because from this point of view, the socio-economic constraints of the place are taken into account along with the ecological constraints. For these reasons, each mangrove area requires specific methodology for sound, sustainable, along term use without decrease of productivity. 

There is another aspect of Indian mangroves that is particularly important. This is the traditional system of management of mangrove swamps, such as the bheri of Orissa and Bengal, or the pokkali rice cultivation of the backwaters of Kerala. These systems are in existence since several centuries and they were successful in developing silvi-agri-aquaculture practices according to which areas of mangroves and small islands are kept intact, they are two functional biological reserves, under the protection of a temple and dedicated to the deity. On the other hand, the soil, the waters and the living components of the system are managed by making wise use of monsoonal and the monsoon when water level is well above the mean level, and carrying out paddy rice cultivation during the inter monsoon. Throughout the year, coconut trees, pepper vines and others are cultivated on the elevated paths and terraces of the mosaic of fields and ponds that occupies the coastal plain. Productivity of these areas has not decreased over the centuries. This system has been introduced by the Portuguese, who had learned it in the west coast of India, in Mocambique and Angola, modified as appropriate. 

In conclusion, in addition to the practical and material significance of mangrove for the well-being of the people, the conservation and wise management of the mangroves of India and other world is important because of their scientific interest for basic and applied studies, as a life sustaining system and as a safeguard for the future. 
 I am sure that the present product will be extremely beneficial for educational purposes, for policy makers, academicians, researches, students and managers. 

I take this opportunity to congratulate and convey my appreciation to the staff of the Centre whose painstaking and timely efforts are responsible for this useful product. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors to provide substantial and accurate information for all those engaged in improving biological and biotechnological services to the people and the nation. 

 
            Marta Vannucci