Every political party, ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, is making promises related to the development of Sundarbans. It’s noteworthy that in 2020, the Cyclone Amphan had drastically damaged the Sundarbans region.
The Width and Status of Sundarbans
Sundarbans is an expansive and interconnected mangrove forest ecosystem situated in the coastal region of Bay of Bengal stretching across India and Bangladesh. This region signifies the world’s largest delta, formed through the confluence of three significant rivers – the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna.
Home to the largest mangrove forests globally, the region has held the status of a forest reserve for a significant duration. However, conservation efforts got a substantial push with the creation of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in 1973.
Sundarbans National Park and its Recognition
Sundarbans National Park was established in 1984, marking a crucial area within the tiger reserve. Later in 1987, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Enhancing its global ecological importance further, UNESCO designated Sunderbans as a Biosphere Reserve in 2001. Adding another feather in its cap, the Sundarban Wetland of India received recognition as the ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in January 2019.
Ecological Significance of Sunderban National Park
Known for its rich biodiversity, the Sunderban National Park hosts 260 bird species. It’s also a habitat for numerous rare and globally threatened wildlife species, such as the Estuarine Crocodile, Royal Bengal Tiger, Water Monitor Lizard, Gangetic Dolphin, and Olive Ridley Turtles. Remarkably, the Sunderbans Delta is the only mangrove forest in the world inhabited by tigers. To ensure its preservation, Discovery India and the World Wide Fund (WWF) India partnered with the Government of West Bengal and local communities in the Sundarbans in 2019.
The Vital Role of Mangroves
Mangroves are unique plant communities found in inter-tidal zones along the coasts of tropical and subtropical countries. They fulfill multiple ecological functions, including the production of woody trees, offering habitats, food, and spawning grounds for both fin-fish and shellfish, and providing habitat for an array of birds and other valuable fauna. Additionally, they serve the critical roles of protecting coastlines and facilitating sediment accretion to form new lands.
Among all the states and Union Territories, West Bengal boasts the highest percentage of area under total Mangrove cover, followed by Gujarat and then the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Valuable data about mangroves and their conditions across the country is provided by The India State of Forest Report.
To conclude, the importance of Sundarbans in terms of ecological balance, biodiversity conservation, and climatic regulation is immense. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on its conservation and sustainable development, making it a significant point of discussion in the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
