The initiation of a World Bank project during the summer of 2007 involved the planting of casuarina saplings (Casuarina equisetifolia) in the sand dunes of the east coast of Tamil Nadu in order to raise a protective plantation a bioshield to blunt the impact of high sea-waves like the tsunami that struck the coast on 26 December 2004. The monoculture
planting of casuarina covered more than one third of the Tamil Nadu coast, which grew densely covering most of the beach starting from the high tide line. (Correspondence)