Bhubaneswar, Feb. 21 -- Five coastal districts of Odisha have mangrove forests, said Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia in the Assembly today.

Five of the seven coastal districts of Odisha have mangrove forests, said the minister while quoting the State of Forest Report-2023 of the National Forest Survey of India.

As per the State of Forest Report-2023, mangrove forests are found in Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore and Puri districts of Odisha, he added.

Odisha has altogether 259.06 sq km of mangrove forests. The state reported an increase of 1.55 sq km of mangrove forests in last two years, revealed the minister.

As per the data, Kendrapara district has 212.69 sq km of mangrove forest...