Selvam Vaithilingam’s Role in Mangrove Research and Management

• Former Executive Director of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.

• Mangroves play a crucial role in coastal ecosystem and climate mitigation.

• Swaminathan proposed mangroves’ role in managing climate change impact in 1989.

• Suggested sustainable management of mangrove wetlands based on ecology, economics, and equity.

• Founding President of the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME).

• Conducted an assessment of mangrove forests’ economic and environmental values.

• Developed GLObal Mangrove database and Information System (GLOMIS).

• Revolutionized India’s mangrove management with hydro-ecological and fishbone canal methods.

• Valued large-scale mangrove restoration during the 1999 Odisha super cyclone and 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

• Significant increase in mangrove coverage in India’s State of Forest Report (2023).