SUNDARBANS - ENVIRONMENT
News: New
Sundarban district, master plan required to prevent erosion: Mamata
What's in the news?
● Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee said that her government is creating a new district of
Sundarban and working on a master plan with the Centre to prevent river erosion
in the region.
Sundarbans:
● Sundarbans
is a vast contiguous mangrove forest
ecosystem in the coastal region of Bay of Bengal spread across India and
Bangladesh.
● It
covers approximately 10,000 square kilometers of area of which 60% is in
Bangladesh and remaining in India.
● It
is located in the delta region of Padma, Meghna and Brahmaputra River basins.
● It
is the largest tidal halophytic mangrove
forest in the world.
● The
Sunderbans Delta is the only mangrove
forest in the world inhabited by tigers.
● Sundarbans
forests are known for Royal Bengal Tiger and other numerous species of animals,
including Chital Deer, Crocodile and Snakes.
Protection:
● The
Sundarbans delta is a National Park, a
Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve. This delta is densely forested, and
it is one of the Bengal tiger's most important habitats. A variety of bird,
reptile, and invertebrate species, including the saltwater crocodile, live in
this park.
● In
1973, the current Sundarbans National Park was designated as the core area of
the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, and in 1977, it was designated as a wildlife
sanctuary.
● It
was designated as a National Park on May 4, 1984.
● It
was recognized as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1987.
● Sundarban
Wetland, India was recognised as the ‘Wetland
of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in January 2019.
Threats:
● It
is facing threats from climate change and rising sea levels.
● It
also faces threat from widespread construction and clearing of mangrove forests
for fisheries.