New Delhi, May 16 -- Mangroves seem like an enigma-they sit between water and land, they float yet are rooted, their leaves are a shiny, bright green yet seem to absorb all light once you're within their waterways. And the way we see mangroves seems just as paradoxical-as one part of the country tries to protect them, another is busy chopping them down.

These rather mysterious and forbidding-looking forests are rich biodiversity hotspots that we're still learning about. Even before we know everything about them, we're threatening their survival with development projects in many parts of the country, and it is ordinary citizens who are fighting back. The language of conservation tends to be quite difficult-carbon sinks, biological barrier...