The Sundarbans are a group of low lying islands in the Bay of Bengal that is notable for their unique mangrove forests and is scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. With an area of over 40,000 square kilometres, this active delta region is one of the world's largest. This article will give you further insight on Sundarbans Delta which will be helpful in the preparation of UPSC Civil services examination.

Location of sundarbans Delta

What are Sundarbans?

• The Sundarbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed from sediments deposited by three great rivers: the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna while covering the Bengal Basin.
• This land has been shaped by tidal action, resulting in a distinct physiology, as part of the world's largest delta.
• Sundari trees can be found in large numbers all over the forest which gives them their name.
• Sundarbans West (Bangladesh), Sundarbans South (Bangladesh), Sundarbans East (Bangladesh), and Sundarbans National Park are four protected areas in the Sundarbans that have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Sundari Tree of Sundarbans

Four Protected Areas of Sundarbans

Sundarban National Park

• The Sundarban National Park 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.

Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary

• In Bangladesh, the Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The sanctuary's biodiversity is extensive, with 40 different animal species, 260 different bird species, and 35 different reptile species.
• The Bengal tiger is the most famous of them, with an estimated 350 remaining in Bangladesh's Sundarbans.
• Wild boar, chital horin (spotted deer), Indian otter, and macaque monkey are among the other huge mammals. The coastal zone is home to five different species of marine turtles, as well as two endangered reptiles: the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.

Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary

• The Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected mangrove forest in Bangladesh that covers 31,227 hectares.
• It is located in the Ganges Delta, between the Katka and Supati Kals creeks, and is bordered to the south by the Bay of Bengal.
• It was founded in 1977.
• Mangrove woodlands, grasslands, sandy beaches, and transitional habitats are the four main types of habitat found in the sanctuary.

Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary

• The Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary is a 36,970 hectare mangrove forest reserve.
• It is located in West Bengal, India, near to the Sundarbans National Park.
• The greatest seasonal change in salinity levels may clearly be seen in this area.
• They are a region with moderate salinity for a prolonged period of time.

Soils of the Sundarbans

• The Sundarbans mangrove forest's soils are different from other inland soils in that they are prone to salt and waterlogging, both of which have natural effects on the plants.
• Soils are semi-solid and poorly consolidated in some areas.
• The pH level varies from 5.3 to 8.0.
• In dry soil, the organic matter level varies between 4% and 10%.
• The salinity of the soil rises from east to west (slight to moderate) but is not constant from north to south across the forest.

Saline & Waterlogged Soil of Sundarbans

Climate of the Sundarbans

• The forest is classified as tropical moist forest since it is located south of the Tropic of Cancer and is bordered by the northern limits of the Bay of Bengal.
• The Sundarbans have more evenly distributed temperatures than the surrounding areas.
• The average annual maximum and minimum temperatures range from 30 to 21 degrees Celsius.
• Temperatures are at their highest from mid-March to mid-June, and at their lowest in December and January.
• From May to October, the monsoon brings most rainfall.
• From mid-June to mid-September, showers are frequent and heavy.
• Storms with tidal waves frequently result in widespread inundation and damage to vegetation and animal life.

Vegetation of the Sundarbans

• The vegetation is predominantly mangrove in nature and includes a wide range of plants such as trees, shrubs, grasses, epiphytes, and lianas.
• They have similar physiological and structural adaptations due to the fact that they are largely evergreen.
• For aerial respiration, most trees feature pneumatophores.

Pneumatophores Pneumatophores are specialised root structures that grow out from the water's surface and let hydrophytic trees, such as many mangrove species, get the aeration they need for root respiration. Pneumatophores

• Sundari (Heritiera fomes) and Gewa are two of the most prominent species (Excoecaria agallocha) found here.
• 35 legumes, 29 grasses, 19 sedges, and 18 euphorbias are among the plant species.
• The Sundarbans alone include 35 of the 50 mangrove plant species ever known.
• Almost all mangrove plant species are evergreen, small, shrubby, or towering trees that grow densely without taking up any floor space.

Fauna of the Sundarbans

• The Sundarbans are home to a wide range of wildlife.
• There are roughly 50 species of mammals, 320 species of inland and migratory birds, 50 species of reptiles, 8 species of amphibians, and 400 species of fish in forest settings.
• It is the Bengal Tiger's final stronghold (Panthera tigris).
• Other prominent mammalian fauna include Spotted deer, Barking deer, Rhesus macaque, Jungle cat, Leopard cat, Indian porcupine, Otter, and wild boar, in addition to the stunning Royal Bengal Tiger.
• The Bengal tiger is one of the endangered species.
• Over 50 species of migratory birds have been identified, with waterfowls accounting for the majority of them.
• Along the muddy banks, egrets, storks, herons, bitterns, sandpipers, curlews, and a variety of other waders can be observed.
• The Estuarine crocodile is the largest of the Sundarbans' 50 reptile species, reaching lengths of up to seven metres in some cases.
• Only eight amphibian species have been identified in the Sundarbans.
• In its diverse aquatic ecosystems, the Sundarbans supports almost 400 species of fish, including both freshwater and saltwater fish.

Royal Bengal Tiger of Sundarbans

Steps taken for the Conservation of Sundarbans

• In collaboration with the Forest Directorate, the Government of West Bengal, and local communities in the Sundarbans, Discovery India and WWF India (World Wide Fund) have joined hands to safeguard the world's only mangrove tiger habitat.
• The initiative referred to as Project C. A. T , builds on WWF India's efforts in the region to promote sustainable livelihoods, clean energy access, and human-wildlife conflict resolution.
• The initiative intends to assist the Forest Directorate in efficiently managing tigers, their prey, and the habitat populations in the Sundarbans.
• They also focus on preventing human-tiger conflict, by taking an integrated approach.
• In this ecologically fragile and climatically susceptible region, it will collaborate with Panchayats to help construct resilient communities.
• The Sundarbans Tiger Project is a joint venture between Bangladesh's Forest Department and the University of Minnesota aimed at ensuring the long-term protection of tigers.
• Through a combination of research, capacity building, and conservation awareness, the project hopes to achieve this goal.

Significance of Sundarbans Delta

• The Sundarbans not only protects people from natural disasters, but they also safeguard the region's biodiversity and geological features, as well as the region's biodiversity and geological features.
• It assists in the stabilisation of coastlines, the recovery of coastal lands, and the sedimentation of rivers.
• For many fish species, the estuary provides an ideal breeding ground.
• Several plant-based companies have sprouted up in this area.
• The newspaper and hardboard mills in Khulna are the most important.
• Gewa and Sundari, the trees which are found in this forest, serves as the raw material for the newspaper and hardboard mills.
• Match factories and boat building are two more prominent plant-based industries in Sundarbans.
• Fuel, tannins, thatching, timber products, medicinal plants, and fodder can all be found in the forest.
• Honey and bee wax are also abundant in the forest.

Conclusion

Sundarbans was double its current size before the start of British administration in India, with most of it lost to cultivation and population. It currently covers 577,356 hectares, with 175,724 hectares of water. Degradation of the Sundarbans' biodiversity, quality, and extent has pushed the realisation that the forest is a limited resource, prompting conservation efforts. Sundarbans now serves as a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and Biosphere Reserve.