The Sundarbans delta, at the mouth of the Ganges river, is the largest mangrove forest in the world, spreading across parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The Sundarbans features a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for its wide range of fauna, with the Royal Bengal tiger being the most famous, but also including many birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.[1] The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language (Sundar, "beautiful" and bans, "forest" or "jungle"). The name may have been derived from the Sundari trees that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name is a corruption of Samudraban (Bengali: সমুদ্রবন Shomudrobôn "Sea Forest") or Chandra-bandhe (name of a primitive tribe). But the generally accepted view is the one associated with Sundari trees. The forest lies at the feet of the Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The seasonally-flooded Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests. The forest covers 10,000 km2 of which about 6,000 are in Bangladesh.[2] It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997, but while the Bangladeshi and Indian portions constitute the same continuous ecotope, these are separately listed in the UNESCO world heritage list as the Sundarbans and Sundarbans National Park, respectively. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. It is estimated that there are now 500[citation needed] Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area. Sundarbans was designated a Ramsar site on May 21, 1992. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the ecoregion has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining. The remaining forests, together with the Sundarbans mangroves, are important habitat for the endangered tiger. Additionally, the Sundarbans serves a crucial function as a protective flood barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Kolkata (Calcutta) against the result of cyclone activity.
The government of Bangladesh has recently provided an updated Ramsar Information Sheet on its Sundarbans Ramsar site, first designated for the Ramsar List in May 1992, enlarging its area from 596,000 to 601,700 hectares. Now to be called "Sundarbans Reserved Forest", this Ramsar and World Heritage site is one of the most important mangrove forests in the world and has been significantly threatened from a number of directions for many years. The nearby Sundarbans mangrove forest across the border in India is not yet a Ramsar site but it is hoped that it will be soon. Ramsar's Liazzat Rabbiosi has distilled from the new RIS a brief summary of the site's main ecological and cultural features, and that's available, with photographs, right here. The Sundarbans Reserved Forest ('the Beautiful Forest') is located between 21°27' and 22°30'N, 89°02' and 90°00'E at the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, which together with the innumerable small channels and creeks flowing into the Bay of Bengal dissect the whole area creating the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world. The site is a hotspot of rich flora and fauna, home to a number of unique and globally or nationally endangered species of plants like rare Sundri (Heritiera fomes), Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha), Passur (Xylocarpus mekongensis), animals like endangered Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), vulnerable Pallas Fishing Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) and Masked Finfoot (Heliopais personata), and critically endangered River Terrapin (Batagur baska), all listed in the IUCN Red Book, rare species of shark (Glephys gangeticus) and very rich avifauna with 315 species of which 84 are migratory. At this transitional zone between freshwater supplied by rivers and saline water pushed by high tides from open sea, many fish species such as Penaeus monodon, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Lates calcarif, Metapeneaus monoceros and Pangaisus pangaisus depend for spawning and juvenile feeding on the Sundarbans aquatic habitat. The wetland is remarkable for protection from the tidal surge generated from the cyclonic depression in the Bay of Bengal. About one third of the total area is used as protected area for the conservation of biological diversity. In addition, the abundant fish and biomass resources (namely timber, fuelwood, pulpwood, leaves, shells, crabs, honey and fish) are harvested by local communities. There is a shipping route through the Sundarbans. The area's religious and cultural importance is reflected in a religious festival once a year which attracts local Hindu devotees and in the venerable ruined Hindu temple of Sheikh at Shekher Tek. The reduction in fresh water flow due to water diversion, the construction of dykes combined with the pollution of the industries and the ports of Khulna and Mongla have tremendously affected the plant and fish population of Sundarbans. The site is notable for the long history of scientific management with protected areas established along the southern periphery of this mangrove wetland. There are eight field stations that provide data for a number of ongoing studies and researches. Recently an information and education center was established at Khulna and a new Integrated Sundarbans management plan is under preparation under the Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project funded by Asian Development Bank.
The Sundarbans - the largest continuous block of mangrove forest in the world - covers an area of 5770 sq. km of land and water. It is a part of the world's largest delta, which has been formed from sediments deposited by the great rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra that converge on the Bengal basin. The western part of the forest lies in India and the rest (about 60%) in Bangladesh. About one third of the total area of this forest is covered by river channels and tidal creeks, varying in width from just a few meters to 5 kilometers in some places! All parts of the Sundarbans forest are subject to tidal inundation during spring tides. The Bangladesh part of the forest is dominated by a high mangrove forest cover. The climate is mainly tropical maritime with lots of rain, most of which falls during the monsoon. The monsoon season (May – October) is hot and humid, while winter (October – February) is mild and dry. During January temperatures can fall as low as 4°C. The entire National Park area is covered by mangrove forest. There are small patches of brackish marshes on emerging islands and riverbanks, and sandy areas with grass and low shrubs on some of the outer islands. The two dominant mangroves are Sundori (Heritiera fomes) and Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha). Sundarbans is home to many different species of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and fishes. Over 120 species of fish and over 270 species of birds have been recorded in the Sundarbans. The Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangeticus) is common in the rivers. No less than 50 species of reptiles and eight species of amphibians are known to occur. The Sundarbans now support the only population of the Estuarine, or Salt-Water Crocodile (Crocodylus parasus) in Bangladesh, and that population is estimated at less than two hundred individuals. About 32 species of mammal are still found in this forest. Among these are Rhesus Macaques, Clawless Otters, Leopard Cats, Fishing Cats and Spotted Deer. The entire Sundarbans Forest comprises the largest remaining tract of habitat for the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris). Where the land meets the sea at the southern tip of West Bengal lies the Indian Sundarbans, a stretch of impenetrable mangrove forest of great size and bio-diversity. A UNESCO World Heritage Site (awarded in ’97) , Sundarban is a vast area covering 4262 square kms in India alone, with a larger portion in Bangladesh. 2585 sq. kms of the Indian Sundarban forms the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India. The total area of the Indian part of the Sundarban forest, lying within the latitude between 21°13’-22°40’ North and longitude 88°05’-89°06’ East, is about 4,262 sq km, of which 2,125 sq km is occupied by mangrove forest across 56 islands and the balance is under water. Where the land meets the sea at the southern tip of West Bengal lies the Indian Sundarbans, a stretch of impenetrable mangrove forest of great size and bio-diversity. A UNESCO World Heritage Site (awarded in ’97) , Sundarban is a vast area covering 4262 square kms in India alone, with a larger portion in Bangladesh. 2585 sq. kms of the Indian Sundarban forms the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India. The total area of the Indian part of the Sundarban forest, lying within the latitude between 21°13’-22°40’ North and longitude 88°05’-89°06’ East, is about 4,262 sq km, of which 2,125 sq km is occupied by mangrove forest across 56 islands and the balance is under water.
