Mumbai: On the occasion of World Environment Day,Godrej & Boyce’s Mangrove mobile app has now been made available in 10 Indian languages of the coastal states and enhanced by 43 new species taking the total to 67 species in all. Launched in 2017 in English, this app is a first of its kind in Asia.  It is available on Android, iOS, and Windows platforms in regional languages Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malyalam, Odiya and Bengali, in addition to Hindi.

On this occasion,Anup Mathew, Senior Vice President & Business Head, Godrej Construction, a business of Godrej & Boycesaid, “For decades, Godrej has beencommittedtowards the conservation of mangroves and its thriving ecosystem. Our primary aim for launching the Mangroves App was to help people become more aware of the importance of this ecosystem. By making it available in 11 Indian languages, we hope to reachout to a larger audience and help propagate the importance of environmental conservation.”

The Mangrove app users can choose to identify the species based on leaf shape, flower colour and name of the species. Besides the identification feature, the app offers other interesting information such as description of every plant species and its uses, mangrove distribution and ecosystem, plant adaptations, faunal biodiversity in mangroves, current threats and conservation measures, role of stakeholders, glossary of technical terms and information about mangroves in Vikhroli (Mumbai). The App would benefit teachers, students,Forest Department officials of the coastal Indian states, NGOs involved in biodiversity research, conservation and awareness, mangrove researchers, nature enthusiasts and nature photographers going to the mangroves.