Previous Year Question

Statement 1 is incorrect. The MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes) scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2023–24 and was launched on 5 June 2023, on the occasion of World Environment Day, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Its objective is to promote the conservation, restoration, and expansion of mangrove forests in India's coastal regions. The programme was not launched in 2019. The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ), implemented in 2019, is a separate regulatory framework related to mangrove conservation, under which mangrove areas are protected as Ecologically Sensitive Areas.

Statement 2 is correct. The primary objective of the MISHTI scheme is Mangrove Restoration, Reforestation, and Afforestation. The initiative promotes mangrove plantation along India's coastal regions and on suitable Salt Pan Lands. According to the government's programme, a target was established for mangrove restoration and afforestation across approximately 540 square kilometres. The programme was designed for a five-year period beginning in the financial year 2023–24. According to the Ministry of Environment's February 2025 statement, mangrove ecosystems occur across India's 9 coastal states and 4 Union Territories, and the initiative supports their conservation and expansion.

Mangrove Forests are communities of Salt-Tolerant Vegetation that develop in the Intertidal Zones of tropical and subtropical coastal regions. Important genera include Rhizophora, Avicennia, and Sonneratia. Their complex Root Systems help stabilize coastal sediments, reduce Coastal Erosion, and limit the impacts of cyclones and marine storms. They also provide important Breeding and Nursery Grounds for fish, crabs, and other marine organisms. Mangroves are significant reservoirs of coastal Blue Carbon because they can store substantial amounts of carbon in their biomass and waterlogged soils.

Implementation of MISHTI is undertaken through coordination between the Central Government, coastal State Governments, and Union Territories. Resources are mobilized through Convergence with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), and other government programmes. Mangrove restoration can support Coastal Biodiversity conservation, Carbon Sequestration, enhancement of local fisheries resources, and improvement of livelihoods in coastal communities. Thus, the MISHTI initiative supports ecological restoration alongside Climate Change Adaptation and the economic security of coastal communities.