Sundarban
The Sundarbans is
a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay
of Bengal. It spans from the Hooghly River in the India's state of West
Bengal to the Baleswar
River in Bangladesh. It comprises closed and open mangrove forests, agriculturally
used land, mudflats, and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels. Four protected areas in the Sundarbans
are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, viz Sundarbans National Park, Sundarbans West, Sundarbans South, and Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuaries. The Sundarbans mangrove forest
covers an area of about 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi),
of which forests in Bangladesh's Khulna Division extend over 6,017 km2 (2,323 sq mi)
and in West Bengal, they extend over 4,260 km2 (1,640 sq mi)
across the South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts.[4] The most abundant tree species are Sundari (Heritiera
fomes) and gewa (Excoecaria agallocha). The forests provide
habitat to 453 faunal wildlife, including 290 birds, 120 fish, 42 mammals, 35 reptiles, and eight amphibian species.
Despite a total ban on all killing or
capture of wildlife other than fish and some invertebrates, it appears that
there is a consistent pattern of depleted biodiversity or loss of species in
the 20th century and that the ecological quality of the forest is
declining. The Directorate of Forest is responsible for the administration
and management of Sundarban National Park in West Bengal. In Bangladesh, a
Forest Circle was created in 1993 to preserve the forest, and Chief
Conservators of Forests have been posted since. Despite preservation
commitments from both Governments, the Sunderbans are under threat from both
natural and human-made causes. In 2007, the landfall of Cyclone Sidr damaged around 40% of the Sundarbans. The forest is also
suffering from increased salinity due to rising sea levels and reduced freshwater supply. Again
in May 2009, Cyclone Aila devastated Sundarban with massive casualties. At least
100,000 people were affected by this cyclone. The proposed
coal-fired Rampal power station situated
14 km (8.7 mi) north of the Sundarbans at Rampal Upazila of Bagerhat
District in Khulna, Bangladesh, is anticipated to further damage this unique
mangrove forest according to a 2016 report by UNESCO.
Etymology
The Bengali name Sundarban Bengali: সুন্দরবন means
"beautiful forest. It may have been derived from the word Sundari or Sundri,
the local name of the mangrove species Heritiera fomes. Alternatively, it has been proposed that
the name is a corruption of Samudraban, Shomudrobôn ("Sea
Forest"), or Chandra-band, the name of a tribe
History
The history of the area
can be traced back to 200–300 AD. A ruin of a city built by Chand
Sadagar has been found in
the Baghmara Forest Block. During the Mughal period, the Mughal Kings leased the forests of the Sundarbans to
nearby residents. Many criminals took refuge in the Sundarbans from the
advancing armies of Emperor Akbar. Many have been known to be attacked by tigers.[13] Many of the buildings which were built by the later fell to hands of Portuguese pirates, salt smugglers, and dacoits in the 17th century. Evidence of the fact can be traced from
the ruins at Netidhopani and other places scattered all over Sundarbans.[14] The legal status of the forests underwent a series of
changes, including the distinction of being the first mangrove forest in the world to be brought under scientific
management. The area was mapped first in Persian, by the Surveyor General as early as 1769 following soon after proprietary rights were
obtained from the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II by the British East
India Company in 1757. Systematic management of
this forest tract started in the 1860s after the establishment of a Forest
Department in the Province of Bengal, in British India. The management was entirely designed to extract whatever
treasures were available, but labor and lower management mostly were staffed
by locals, as the British had no expertise or adaptation experience in mangrove
forests.
The first Forest Management Division to
have jurisdiction over the Sundarbans was established in 1869. In 1875 a large
portion of the mangrove forests was declared as reserved forests under the Forest Act, 1865 (Act VIII of 1865). The
remaining portions of the forests were declared a reserve forest the following
year and the forest, which was so far administered by the civil administration
district, was placed under the control of the Forest Department. A Forest
Division, which is the basic forest management and administration unit, was
created in 1879 with the headquarters in Khulna, Bangladesh. The first management plan was written for the period
1893–98
In 1911, it was described
as a tract of waste country which had never been surveyed nor had the census
been extended to it. It then stretched for about 266 kilometers (165 mi)
from the mouth of the Hooghly
River to the mouth of
the Meghna river and was bordered inland by the three
settled districts of the 24 Parganas, Khulna and Bakerganj. The total area (including water) was estimated at 16,900 square
kilometers (6,526 sq mi). It was a water-logged jungle, in which
tigers and other wild beasts abounded. Attempts at reclamation had not been
very successful. The Sundarbans were intersected by river channels and creeks,
some of which afforded water communication throughout the Bengal region both
for steamboats and ships.
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