The Sundarbans
Sundarbans The word Sundarbans comes from the term "Sundari" which refers to the large mangrove tree. It is the largest mangrove forest in the world, it is a vast swampy mangrove region in the Ganges Delta, southwest of Bangladesh. Sundarbans National Park is in 24 southern Pargan districts of West Bengal, India. The meaning of the Bengali word sundarban is the "beautiful forest."
Location and habitat.
The Sundarbans have two ecoregions: swampy freshwater forests, and mangroves. In the mangroves, the dominant mangrove is the Heritiera fomes. They form a primary coastal ecosystem of great biological diversity, being spawning and breeding areas for numerous marine species. Mangroves, despite their relatively small coverage area compared to other terrestrial biotopes, tropical deciduous broadleaf forests, constitute one of the 14 terrestrial biomes, that is, they form a unique, outstanding cohort of plants and animals that inhabit spaces with characteristics equally unique physical.
Some functions of the mangrove Sundarbans
They produce large amounts of oxygen. They stabilize coastal lands against erosion, protecting the coast from hurricane winds and other high-impact weather events. They serve as regulators of the flow of rainwater, reducing the effect of flooding. They are buffer zones against contaminants in the water
Habitat of migratory species, mainly birds that pass the northern or southern winter season in the tropics and subtropics.
Habitat of juvenile stages of many pelagic and littoral fish, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, annelids, whose habitat in adult stadiums are the prairies of the seagrasses, the marshes and coastal lagoons, the coral reefs or others, even of fresh waters inside the continents (approximately 70% of the organisms captured in the sea, make part of their life cycle in a mangrove area or coastal lagoon).
Because of its ecotone status between the two large types of biomass, mangroves house a large number of terrestrial and marine organisms.
They have a very high primary productivity which maintains a complex trophic network with nesting sites for birds, feeding areas, growth and protection of reptiles, preces, crustaceans, molluscs, among others.
The mangroves continue along the Gulf coast against coastal erosion that derives from waves and seas, as a consequence of the stability of the coastal floor provided by the pulp roots; on the other hand, the dense and high canopy of the mangrove forest is an effective barrier against wind erosion (hurricane winds, etc.), even during the seasons of heavy storms
Mangroves are a palliative against possible climatic changes not only because they are CO2 fixers, but also because mangroves immobilize large amounts of sediments rich in organic matter.
Also through this mechanism, mangroves trap pollutants (e.g., persistent toxic organic compounds and heavy metals)
The hypoxic environments of mangroves (and coastal marshes and lagoons) purify sewage transported by tributaries and reduce climate change by oxidation or reduction of nitrous oxide greenhouse gas -product of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter -a nitric oxide or molecular nitrogen respectively.
It is estimated that 767 kg of commercially important marine species are lost annually for each mangrove species destroyed.
Mangrove branches are useful for obtaining charcoal. Mangroves play an important role as a source of irreplaceable resources for many peasant populations in the tropics. This is particularly critical in those regions where land areas adjacent to mangroves are predominantly arid, v. gr., Niger Delta, arid pericaribean belt, Gulf of Bengal and therefore limited in its supply and diversity of resources. The most important resources are listed below. These have been exploited without prejudice for hundreds and even thousands of years; However, recently (since the mid-twentieth century), population growth, urban expansion, the preponderance of consumerism and the advent of efficient extractive technologies have decimated mangrove resources in many regions, to irreversible conditions of deterioration and depletion. Large-scale industrial and artisanal fishing at family level Charcoal, mangrove wood for construction and firewood ZoocrÃa of many species (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris, Caiman croccodylus…) Salt extraction Tannin extraction Hunting Recreation and tourism
Among the towns that inhabit the area are the Mowalis, who depend on the mangrove for their livelihood and are dedicated to one of the most risky professions in the country, the Mowalis are honey pickers. Every year during April and May they enter the changing mangrove environment in search of giant honey bee hives.
Tourist trips to Sundarbans
Most national parks in India provide means for tourism and therefore qualify to be included in category II. Sandurban National Park is one of the few exceptions. Many tourists go there to see bengal tigers, saltwater crocodiles, leopards and cobra snakes. Direct flights depart from Spain, and some cheap flights from larger European cities such as Paris, London, via India. It is recommended to visit in this place in tourist groups of safaris that leave from Dhaka and Khulna, since the most important points can only be reached by boat. In case visitors want to move alone, it is more advisable to hire a driver with the boat or a guide because many places are very similar and it is very easy to get lost.
The Sundarbans are one of the largest mangrove forests in the world, with an area of about 140,000 ha; It is located in the Ganges delta, Brahmaputra and Meghna in the Bay of Bengal, next to the Sundarbans border, and is an Indian World Heritage site inscribed in 1997. The site is crossed by a complex network of waterways of tide, marshes, and small islands of salt-tolerant mangroves, and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes. The area is known for its wide variety of fauna, including 260 bird species, the Bengal tiger and other threatened species such as the estuary crocodile and the python of India.
Criterion (ix): The Sundarbans provide a significant example of current ecological processes, as it represents the delta formation process and subsequent colonization of newly formed delta islands and associated mangrove communities. These processes include monsoon rains, floods, delta formation, tidal influence and plant colonization. As part of the world's largest delta, formed from the sediments deposited by three large rivers: the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna, and covering the Bengal Basin, the land has been shaped by the action of the tides, which results in a distinctive physiology.
Criterion (x): One of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world, the Sundarbans, supports an exceptional level of biodiversity, both in terrestrial and marine environments, including important populations of endangered feline species. extinction, like the Royal Bengal tiger. The population censuses of Bengal tigers estimate a population of between 400 and 450 specimens, a density higher than any other population of tigers in the world.
The property is the only remaining habitat in the lower Bengal basin for a wide variety of wildlife species. Its exceptional biodiversity is expressed in a wide range of flora: 334 species of plants belonging to 245 genera and 75 families, 165 of algae and 13 species of orchids. It is also rich in fauna, with 693 wildlife species that includes: 49 mammals, 59 reptiles and amphibians, 8 210 white fish, 24 shrimp, 14 crabs and 43 species of mollusks. The varied and colorful birdlife found along the waterways of the property is one of its greatest attractions, including 315 species of water birds, raptors and forest birds, including nine species of kingfisher and the magnificent white-bellied sea eagle .
The Sundarbans, located in the largest delta, and with the tidal phenomenon of the region, provide various habitats for several hundred aquatic, terrestrial and amphibian species. The property is of sufficient size to adequately represent its considerably high diversity of flora and fauna with all the key values included within the limits. The site includes the entire landscape of mangroves with an adequate surrounding area of aquatic (both marine, freshwater) and terrestrial habitats, and therefore all areas essential for the long-term conservation of Sundarbans and their rich biodiversity and different. The World Heritage property consists of three wildlife sanctuaries that form the breeding area, the nucleus of a series of endangered wildlife species. Areas of unique natural beauty, ethnobotanical interest, special marine fauna interest, rivers, streams, islands, swamps, estuaries, marshes and tidal plains, are also included in the property. Property boundaries protect all major types of mangrove vegetation, areas of high flora and fauna values and important areas for birds. The integrity of the property is reinforced by terrestrial and aquatic areas that surround it, but are not part of the registered property. Natural disasters, such as cyclones, have always been threats to property values, along with the intrusion of saline water and sedimentation, with possible threats to attributes. Cyclones and tidal waves cause some damage to the forest along the sea-land interface, and have caused considerable occasional mortality among some wildlife species such as spotted deer. Overexploitation of timber resources and wildlife, and agricultural invasion, also pose serious threats to property values and their overall integrity.
The property is composed of three wildlife sanctuaries and has a history of effective national protection of land, forest and aquatic environment since the early 19th century. The three wildlife sanctuaries were established in 1977 within the framework of Bangladesh Nature (Preservation) (Amendment), 1974, first of having been published, in forest reserves in 1878. Together with the Forest Law of 1927, Bangladesh Nature ( Preservation) (Amendment) 1974, establishes control activities, such as entry, movement, fishing, hunting and extraction that occurs in forests. A number of field stations established in West Sundarbans help provide facilities for management personnel. There are no recognized local rights within the reserved forest with the entry and collection of forest products subject to permits issued by the Forestry Department. The property is very well managed and regularly supervised by the established management standards, the staff and individual administrative units. The fundamental objective of management is property management to retain biodiversity, aesthetic values and integrity. A delicate balance is required to maintain and facilitate the ecological process of the property on a sustainable basis. Another management priority is the maintenance of ongoing ecological and hydrological processes that could be threatened by ongoing development activities outside the property. Subject to a series of successively more comprehensive management plans since its declaration as a forest reserve, the point that many of these plans is the management of tigers, as an integral part of forest management that guarantees the sustainable exploitation of forests, while the maintenance of the coastal zone is done in a way that meets the needs of the local human population. Sundarbans work plans demonstrate a progressive increase in the understanding of management requirements and the complexity of the recipes made to meet them. Many research has been done on wildlife and the Sundarbans ecosystem. The entry and international assistance of WWF and the National Zoological Park, the Smithsonian Institution, as well as other organizations, has contributed to the formulation of work plans for the property, focusing on wildlife conservation and management. The Sundarbans provide sustainable livelihoods for millions of people in the immediate vicinity of the site and acts as a shelter belt to protect the people from storms, cyclones, storm surges, seawater leaks and intrusion. The area provides livelihoods at certain times of the year for a large number of people living in small villages surrounding the property, who work interchangeably as lumberjacks, fishermen, honey gatherers, leaves and grass gatherers.
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