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Monday, February 10, 2025

Guneri’s inland mangrove forest is state’s first Biodiversity Heritage Site | Ahmedabad News


Gandhinagar: The state govt has declared an area of 32.78 hectares in Guneri village of Kutch district as the state’s first ‘Biodiversity Heritage Site’. The inland site in Kutch’s Lakhpat taluka is full of dense mangroves and is unaffected by high tides, with the soil remaining dry all year long, the state govt said in a statement on Thursday.
Mangroves are typically found along coastlines and usually grow in marshy or muddy areas. However, the mangroves at Guneri, located 45 km from the Arabian Sea and 4 km from Kori Creek, never come in contact with seawater. It is spread over 32.78 hectares of flat land like a mangrove forest, which is a unique feature, the statement said.
The statement added that it was essential for people to learn about this distinctive and unique site of mangroves to ensure its conservation and enhancement.
Taking into account the recommendation of the Gujarat Biodiversity Board, the Gujarat govt declared the ‘Inland Mangrove Guneri’ site in Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district as the state’s first ‘Biodiversity Heritage Site’ (BHS). The management plan of the Gujarat Biodiversity Board will ensure conservation and enhancement of its flora and fauna, the statement added.
The govt said that the rights and privileges of the locals will be respected. Through capacity-building training for locals and the local forest and tribal communities, biodiversity conservation and enhancement programmes will be undertaken, the statement added.
The Gujarat Biodiversity Board (GBD) had in 2015 proposed four sites in the state to be declared as Biodiversity Heritage Sites. These include Gosabara wetland in Porbandar, mangroves of Jalalpore in Navsari district and Lakhpat in Kutch, and natural mango forest of Galkund in Dangs.
The concept of biodiversity heritage sites includes not just protection of the flora and fauna but also active involvement of the local communities in conservation efforts and their economic development.





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