Report by Orissadiary correspondent; Bhubaneswar: The coastal state of Orissa has become a ground zero for disasters. Communities and their sources of livelihoods have been dismantled and destroyed by an unholy mix of these disasters and subsequent negligence for their systematic rehabilitation.

Mangroves, the life-supporting system for many coastal communities across the globe, have been the primary source of livelihoods and protection for these communities in Orissa. Due to lack of coordinated and viable actions to further develop these critical resources through supporting and strengthening community-based initiatives, both the resource and the dependent communities are bearing the brunt of global changes.

The once thriving and vibrant coastal social-ecological systems are undergoing many rapid transformations, both in the ecology and the socio-economic conditions in this region. Many of these communities witness the gradual disappearance of their homes, agricultural lands, and assets into the bottomless belly of the adjoining Bay of Bengal. Aptly described as 'Climate's First Orphans,' they have been left to fend for themselves in these hostile and uncertain conditions.

The only support and refuge for these communities-at-risk is the surviving mangrove ecosystem. Its value as a protective shield against tropical storms and tidal waves has been ingrained in the perceptions and actions of these communities. Their commitment to carry forward actions of mangrove protection and rehabilitation in coastal Orissa was very well reflected during a one-day workshop on Mangrove Ecosystems for Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction organised to commemorate the International Mangrove Action Day 2009. This was jointly convened by Bhubaneswar based Centre for the Environment and Public Policy (CEPP) and Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA). A total of seventeen grassroots organizations and their members deliberated on the existing and emerging challenges associated with mangrove protection and coastal livelihood security. Fisherman communities expressed their concern over the declinng catch because of mangrove loss in many areas. 

Underscoring the lack of coordination among various organizations working for mangrove protection, Jyotiraj Patra Team Leader CEPP and a doctoral scholar from the University of Oxford, encouraged participants to come together in unison to work and deliver at various levels.  A consensus gradually emerged among these diverse groups to establish a systematic and coordinated mechanism to ensure concreted actions and thus resulted in the Coalition for the Sustainability of Coastal Social-ecological Systems in Orissa (SuCoSys-Orissa), the acronym  translates in to 'a noble initiative' in Oriya and Hindi. This coalition aims to bring together diverse groups of stakeholders, agencies of the state, development organizations, research institutes, and media groups and provide them with an enabling platform to engage in collaborative learning through informed exchange of ideas.

Reminding participants of the strength of 'Unity in Diversity,' the idea of independent India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Bijay Kabi director APOWA urged participants to carry forward this SuCoSys at their respective levels and areas of operation. It was agreed upon to focus primarily on mangrove restoration and conservation as this holds the much potential to protect both lives and livelihoods in these vulnerable coastal regions.