Mangroves contribute to Mumbai in a host of ways. They protect the city from storm surges, nurture fish breeding grounds, absorb air pollution, and help filter coastal waters. But these services rarely find a place on balance sheets or cost-benefit analyses - in part because they aren't easy to quantify.
Now, a new study tries to do precisely that. According to an analysis by IIT Bombay researchers, benefits provided by mangroves are worth at least Rs 1,700 crore a year to Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). For Greater Mumbai alone, mangroves provide Rs 1,155 crore worth of services annually, the study found.
The findings highlight the economic value of these ecological systems, says researcher Naman Gupta. "It allows us to consider mangroves as not just a barrier to development, but as assets." The MMR is home to some 22,300 hectares of mangrove, while Mumbai hosts about 6,522 hectares, according to some estimates.
Gupta interviewed 150 households across rural (Vasai), semi-urban (Uran), and urban (Navi Mumbai) settings - and asked whether they would be willing to pay to conserve them. About 80% of rural and urban respondents said they would be willing to pay to conserve mangroves. That willingness was lowest among the semi-urban residents in Uran (58%).
However, the actual amount these Uran residents were willing to pay was the highest of the three sites - an average Rs 214 a month compared with Rs 154 among rural residents and Rs 146 among urban respondents. The willingness.
