Sri Vijaya Puram, March 29: The Working Plan Division of Forest Department, organised Mangrove Awareness Programme for college students and frontline staff of the Division at Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park (MGMNP), Wandoor on 28th & 29th March, 2026. The awareness programmes were conducted under Biosphere Management Programme of National Coastal Mission, Govt. of India with the objective of generating awareness among staff and students on mangrove conservation and management.
Altogether, 44 college students from Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya, Sri Vijaya Puram and Department of Marine Biology and Ocean Studies, Pondicherry University, Brookshabad, Sri Vijaya Puram participated in the awareness programme. Further, 40 staff including frontline staff, ministerial staff and supporting staff of Working Plan Division also participated in the awareness programme.
The participants had first-hand experience of viewing different species of corals and other marine life including a few species of sea cucumber in the National Park area. The participants could also see different species of mangroves like Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora stylosa, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Avicennia marina, Xylocarpus granatum, Xylocarpus rumphii, Heritiera littoralis, Excoecaria agallocha etc. Shri Joju P. Alappatt, IFS, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Working Plan) conducted field sessions on identifying mangroves and associated species in the National Park area. He also gave detailed field classes on importance of mangroves and role of mangroves in coastal protection and biodiversity conservation.
As part of the awareness programme, the participants also visited Marine Interpretation Centre, MGMNP, Wandoor and Wandoor beach. During the interactive session conducted at Marine Interpretation Centre, DCF (Working Plan) elaborated up on the importance of Marine National Park and its biodiversity values. Shri T.P. Mukesh and Shri Robin Paul, Range Forest Officers, Working Plan Division coordinated the whole awareness programme.