CHENNAI: Pichavaram mangroves, one of the largest mangrove ecosystems in India and a popular tourist spot in Tamil Nadu, will house a Mangrove Conservation Centre. It will be built by the Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission under the Environment and Climate Change Department.
The main objective of the conservation centre is to share knowledge on the importance of wetlands and bring necessary awareness for conserving mangroves, and the mission will also carry out afforestation of mangrove on 22,149 sqm of area. The plan includes building walking decks into the mangrove forest to allow the public to experience the ecosystem, and also an observation tower.
"The purpose of this project is to develop a comprehensive institute in a manner that it becomes environmentally sustainable, socio-culturally enriching, and economically beneficial to the people, and to promote leisure and recreation-based excursion in a sustainable and integrated manner to make Pichavaram a major national and international tourist destination," a mission document said.
The Pichavaram mangrove forest, one of the largest of its kind in India covering an area of 1,478 hectares, is located between two prominent estuaries, the Vellar estuary in the north and the Coleroon estuary in the south. Earlier, the government had proposed the conservation centre in Muthupet mangroves in Tiruvarur. Later, orders were issued to shift the site to Pichavaram.
In a move to ensure the conservation centre meets green building norms, the mission has decided to construct the building to face the windward direction to take advantage of the cool breeze and to reduce the usage of air-conditioning. The building will be constructed using materials that reflect heat.