PANAJI
The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has granted approval to Diageo India to undertake mangrove plantation and restoration across approximately 40 acres of coastal and estuarine landscape in Goa under the company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives.
However, while granting permission, the GCZMA imposed conditions stating that the plantation sites must be identified in consultation with the Forest Department and the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB). The plantation and restoration activities will also have to be carried out under the supervision of the GSBB.
According to the proposal, Diageo India runs a community-driven mangrove regeneration and coastal protection programme and has already completed a three-year restoration initiative in Odisha, where it restored over 62 acres of mangrove ecosystems and planted more than 30,000 saplings across five villages in Astaranga. The company now plans to replicate the conservation model along Goa's coastline.
The approval comes at a time when the State government is preparing to significantly scale up mangrove restoration under the Centre's Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) scheme.
The Forest Department has proposed restoration of nearly 570 ha of degraded mangrove ecosystems over the next three years, beginning this financial year. The programme will be implemented through the State unit of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) following recommendations made at the recent National Executive Committee meeting, which identified Goa as having substantial potential for mangrove restoration. The project is scheduled to continue till 2028-29.
In a parallel conservation effort, the Forest Department has also proposed more than 12,000 survey numbers as mangrove conservation zones. The department has recommended that these areas be incorporated as eco-sensitive zones under the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2019.
