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The Sundarbans - Coggle Diagram
The Sundarbans
Management
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148000 ha of mangroves afforested by the Forest Department (although inadequate knowledge of suitable species meant it was hit or miss whether species survived)
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Promotion of small scale tourism - eco sensitive infrastructure is being built at Ganga Sagar (an important pilgrimage site at the confluence of the Ganges and the sea)
Green Belt Policy planted 9000km along rail, road and coastal embankments and island foreshores
Communities have received water tight containers to store important papers and belongings during floods
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USAID trains communities to become resilient to future climate shocks, 30,000 people have received training on improving by agricultural techniques
Background
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Largest mangrove forest in the world covering 140,000 hectares
Lies in delta of the Ganges, Brahmuputra and Meghna which join the Bay of Bengal.
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Has 333 species of plant, 400 species of fish and over 400 species of animals
Challenges
Bengal Tiger
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Decline due to poaching for coats, bones
Shrimp
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Extensive farming took place as demand for wild tiger shrimp seedlings is high. The Indian Government semi-banned fish farming so it had to be done 500m away from the coastline and not in prime agricultural land. Despite the law shrimp farming still uses nets that catch other fish, decreasing their populations.
Storms
Cyclone Sidr in 2007 had winds of up to 220km/hr, 6m storm surge and caused a loss of 30% of its plant habitat.
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Homes destroyed, 15,000 deaths
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Tsunamis
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Cause great loss of life, destruction of homes and local wildlife
Has the potential to destroy enough forest to leave populated areas at risk from future cyclones/tsunamis due to loss of natural protection
Erosion
Increased sea level rise, tides and waves contribute to erosion
3.71% of forest had been lost from erosion, contributing to 20m of land destroyed in some areas per year
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Sea Level Change
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Caused by eustatic sea level change. Increasing temperatures are leading to thermal expansion and ice caps melting
Cause loss of land, animal habitat and destroy villages
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Landforms
Mangrove forest
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Types of roots that prevent movement:
- Support roots attached directly into the soil
- Level-growing roots which twist upwards and downwards to emerge in the water surface
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Density of 30 trees per 0.01ha, reducing the force of a tsunami by 90%
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Opportunities
Social:
Most of the area know as Khas which is government owned open access land, protected for use by local populations. Locals are dependent on the forest or its waters for their livelihoods of farming honey or fishing.
Economic:
The forest provided work for rural people in both India and Bangladesh. The forest supplies timber for furniture and fuel along with other products. One of Bangladesh’s main exports is jute which is harvested from the forest. Each ha of mangrove has a value of $12,000.
Economic:
In Bangladesh the shrimp industry earned the country around $543.84 million between 2012-13, contributing 2.79% to their foreign exchange. The shrimp industry provided direct employment to 1 million people and provided dependent employment to over 3.5 million people in Bangladesh alone.
Economic:
UNESCO declared 28% of the Sundarban as a world heritage site. This land is now used for ecotourism, which promotes the area and bring in more money to help fund and protect the area.
Environmental:
The forest stabilise the coast from tidal surges, and research has shown that it can absorb up to 40% of a cyclones power. The Sundarban is home to many endangered species including the Bengal Tiger. As the area of land has decreased the number of tigers has also decreased.
Mitigation
Despite living in an extreme environment, the locals try to make the best of their situation. It’s said that each communities resources mitigate the worst impacts of their environment. The people of the Sundarbans have been able to adapt to naturally caused challenges, or haven’t needed to at all. For example, before the fast paced climate change during the 20th and 21st centuries, the mangrove trees provided an excellent coastal defense to the area, but now that is not enough due to human activity.
Human activity has caused the locals to not be able to utilize a number of open access natural resources including the forests, which are now being destroyed due to deforestation and population growth.
To mitigate the high risk of natural disasters, some areas have invested in physical infrastructure, like roads, hospitals, and schools. Also, the economic value of the area means that some areas have a high economic safety than other areas in their countries.
However, the locals' resilience is decreasing due to a rise in poverty and the marginalization of some coastal communities. This is caused by the shrinking of the open access resources, degradation of ecosystems and increasing deaths by tigers.