The Sunderbans is the world's largest mangrove ecosystem spread across Bangladesh and India, covering an area of 6,000 Sq.km. The Sunderbans is the point where the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers converge and flow into the Bay of Bengal a 20,000 square km network of creeks and canals, tidal rivers and estuaries, with about one hundred islands on the Indian side alone, supporting rich biodiversity.
The Sunderbans is the only mangrove tiger habitat in the world and supports the largest tiger population in
the wild. Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) are strong, solitary animals which use a large territory.
These coastal mangrove forests also provide habitat for species such as Indian otters, spotted deer, wild
boars, estuarine crocodiles, fiddler crabs, mud crabs, three marine lizard species and five marine turtle
species.
These ecosystems are highly vulnerable to sea-level rise induced by climate change, which will change the
salinity distribution and inundate mangroves. In the Sunderbans, for example, rainstorms are quite
common during the monsoon season. The islands and its ecosystems including the community are severely
stressed on availability of natural resources and are extremely vulnerable to change in climate.
Communities have already begun to perceive drastic changes in weather conditions and monsoon
patterns, along with frequent extreme climatic events like cyclones. Sea level rise is another major
threat. Some of the low-lying islands have already got partially submerged, resulting in displacement of a
large number of people and rendering them helpless as ecological refugees.
The IPCC forecasts that the already extreme weather, with its frequent severe storm surges, droughts and
floods will further worsen and as the sea level rises, eventually the entire Sunderbans would get
submerged. It is estimated that a 45cm rise in sea level could inundate 75% of the area while a 1m rise will
completely inundate and submerge the Sunderbans, will destroy productive lands, wipe out species, and
devastate ecosystem goods and services. Scientists estimate that by 2020, 15% of 12 islands identified as
the most vulnerable in the Sunderbans will have disappeared. More than a million people will be directly
affected in India and Bangladesh by 2050.
In last few years the region has seen significant rise in sea level (more than 2.5 cm/year), also the
monsoon has been shifted for a period of 15 20 days, increases the vulnerability of the community and the
ecosystem.
About 65% of the people in Sunderbans depend upon agriculture and they strongly suspect climate change
to be responsible for causing rise in sea level, delayed monsoon seasons, lengthier summers, and a
dramatic increase in rainfall over the past 15 years. The key threats to agriculture in Sunderbans include
crop vulnerability to changing weather patterns, increased exposure to pests and salinization of
freshwater supplies. Communities in Sunderbans are already responding by adjusting the timing of
cropping, changing crop types, and increasing rainwater harvesting and building island mud barrages.
Courtsey: World WildLife Fund- India
|