International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research (IJETR) ISSN: 2321-0869, Volume-2, Issue-11, November 2014 338 www.erpublication.org Abstract— Maharashtra state is having a variety of resources and is one of the developed state in India. Maharashtra state lies in the western and central part of country. The western part of Maharashtra is bordered by Arabian Sea and having a coastline of 720 kms. Coastline of Maharashtra consists of wetlands in terms of marshes and mangroves, which provides food and shelters to the Aquatic Organisms and also protect the coastal settlement and agricultural land from natural calamities. Now a day’s mangrove vegetation is more vulnerable due to human interferences and at time vulnerable to natural Climatic Changes too. Authors have highlighted the status and conservation of mangroves in Maharashtra. Index Terms— Mangrove conservation, Climate change, Human intervention, Mangrove degradation. I. INTRODUCTION The coast is narrow overlap zone between the land and sea, where the erosional and depositional processes taken place. Numerous erosional and depositional coastal features come into the existence between land and sea [1], [2]. Cliffs, rocky platform, beaches, sand bars, sand dunes and wetlands are associated with the coasts. Coastal wetlands i.e. marshes and mangroves are economically significant ecosystem on the earth. [3] . These valuable ecosystems are under the threat of increasing population. Coastal tract of Maharashtra is more vulnerable to mangrove degradation. Most of the mangroves patches have been degraded as a result of transforming the wetlands into agricultural fields and prawns‘ farming [4]. Violations of coastal regulation zone have seen in the coastal areas of Maharashtra. Therefore, mangroves are more prone to degradation in future. The saline water from sea enters through estuaries and small tidal inlets at the time of high tide and inundated most of the mud flats and agricultural land. Under the scheme of kharland (saline land) development, generally earthen bunds are constructing to mitigate from the salinity problem. But in view of the mangrove conservation practices, construction of bunds under the scheme of kharland development may not be suggested at or near to opening of the estuaries, wherever sea water enters into estuary or tidal inlets. There may be a threat to mangrove destruction due to such construction activities. The pioneer works of distinguished researchers revealed that the mangrove vegetation requires continuous monitoring in view of its conservation. Manuscript received November 23, 2014. Nisha R. Mugade, Ph.D. Research Student, Department of Geography, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. Mobile No. 07028013939 Jagdish B. Sapkale, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. Mobile No. 09850046453. II. MANGROVE VEGETATION Mangrove is a tree or shrub which grows in tidal, chiefly tropical, coastal swamps, having numerous tangled roots that grow above ground and form dense thickets [5]. ―Mangrove is large tropical evergreen tree/forest, genus Rhizophora that grows on muddy tidal flats and along protected ocean shorelines. Mangroves produce from their trunks aerial roots that become embedded in the mud and form a tangled network; this serves both as a support for the tree and as a means of aerating the root system. Such roots also form a base for the deposit of silt and other material carried by the tides, and thus land is built up which is gradually invaded by other vegetation. The mangrove forests also can protect inland coastal areas by absorbing the effects of storm and some tsunami waves, but many mangroves have been harvested destructively on a large scale‖ [6]. Mangroves are notably tropical plants that grow with their roots relatively submerged in sea water. They are economically significant because the mangroves are a source of timber wood (used mainly as firewood). Mangroves also protect shorelines from wave damage and disastrous events and provide shelters for fishes [7]. Differentiate investigations revealed that mangrove growth and its area is decreasing due to change in climate and human interventions. Global warming is one of the dominant events of climate change which causes sea level rises and tends to reduce the mangrove swamps. Future models and predictions also indicates that sea level is increasing day by day and influences on the growth and health of mangroves [8], [9], [10], [11], [12] [13]. III. MAJOR AREAS OF MANGROVES IN MAHARASHTRA The mangrove ecosystem in south konkan playing significant role, provide various benefits to the local people. This ecosystem is more or less protected in the wetlands of Mithbav creek. The coastal native do plantation of Rhizophora, spp. Sonneratia spp. Avicennia spp. regularly. Excoecaria agallocha can grow naturally all over the coastal line [14]. The various species of mangrove are identified along the coasts of Maharashtra. Table no. 1 shows the major sites of mangroves along the major estuaries and tidal inlets of coastal Maharashtra. Karivane estuary is having various species of mangroves with uneven size (Fig. 1). A Review of Mangrove Conservation Studies in Maharashtra, India Nisha R. Mugade, Jagdish B. Sapkale