The Sewri Mangrove Park was declared a protected area by the Bombay Port Trust on January 15 1996. This park consists of 15 acres of mangroves in the mudflats between Sewri and Trombay . The BPT has undertaken to protect this area from any new construction or dredging activity. It will also attempt to influence the chemical industries along the coastline to check air and water pollution by reinforcing effluent control measures. The Trust also plans to protect the park from residents of nearby areas who cut down the trees for fuel, as well as from unscrupulous developers who remove sand from the area, thereby weakening the grip of anchor roots.
Mangroves are essential to the ecology of the coast and the island.
They provide fertile ground for fish to feed and breed in and nurture a large variety of birds. It is estimated that 800 species of birds either live in, or visit these swamps. In 1994 Flamingoes returned to mudflats after forty years. More regular visitors are avocets, curlews, sandpipers, gulls, terns, little stints, red shanks and green shanks. Seven species of mangroves have been identified in this area.