Odisha’s mangrove restoration shines in global documentary series featuring ‘Game of Thrones’ Star
By Chandrabhanu Singh
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 24: Odisha’s pioneering mangrove restoration efforts have received global recognition in season two of the global documentary series titled ‘An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet,’ featuring Game of Thrones actor and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
The series, which premiered globally on Wednesday, opens with an episode titled “Protect”, spotlighting community-led climate resilience initiatives from around the world — including Odisha’s successful mangrove regeneration model.
The featured segment takes viewers to Bagapatia village in Kendrapara district, one of the state’s most climate-vulnerable coastal zones. Once displaced by rising sea levels and erosion, the local community has turned adversity into resilience through mangrove restoration, sustainable aquaculture, and eco-livelihood programmes supported by the Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (ECRICC) initiative.
The ECRICC project is a collaborative effort between the Green Climate Fund, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Government of Odisha, and UNDP as the implementation partner. It aims to strengthen coastal ecosystems and build community resilience across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
According to the Odisha forest department, over 3,200 hectares of degraded mangrove forests have been restored across Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore districts since 2018 under the ECRICC and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) programmes. These dense mangrove belts now serve as natural bio-shields, mitigating cyclonic impacts and soil erosion while boosting carbon capture.
Scientific restoration efforts, led by the Regional Centre for Mangrove Research at Rajnagar, have also introduced native species like Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata through assisted regeneration to enhance biodiversity. Complementing these efforts, the Integrated Coastal Management Policy (2023) promotes livelihood diversification by involving women’s self-help groups in nursery raising, plantation, and eco-tourism ventures.
As Coster-Waldau journeys from Denmark to Ecuador and India in the documentary, Odisha’s story stands out as a powerful example of science-driven governance and grassroots climate action. Its inclusion in the series not only amplifies India’s coastal resilience model but also positions Odisha as a global case study in ecosystem-based adaptation and inclusive climate leadership.
