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Climate Change impact on Sunderbans mangrove

Environment and Ecology Climate
  • Published on: 05-Jul-17
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Climate Change impact on Sunderbans mangrove
  • According to a study conducted by school of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, from 1986 to 2012, 124.418 sq. km. mangrove forest cover has been lost.
  • The total forest cover of the Indian Sunderbans as assessed by remote sensing studies for the year 1986 was about 2,246.839 sq. km., which gradually declined by 2,201.41 sq. km. in 1996, then down to 2168.914 sq km in 2001 and to 2122.421 sq km in 2012. The loss in the mangrove forest in the Indian Sunderbans is about 5.5 %.
  • The continuation of this process in response to climate change and sea level rise poses a serious threat to the carbon sequestration potential and other ecosystem services of this mangrove forest in future,
  • Mean sea level rise at the Sagar Island Station, measured from 1985 onward till 2010, shows a rise by 2.6-4 mm a year, which can be considered a driving factor for coastal erosion, coastal flooding, and an increase in the number of tidal creeks.
  • In Dulibhasani West, the loss of mangrove cover has been about 9.7% — from 180.03 sq. km. in 1986 to 163.475 sq. km. in 2012. The mangrove forest cover of Dalhousie, another island, has depleted by 16%, from 76.606 sq. km. in 1986 to 64.241 in 2012. Bhangaduni has one of the highest erosion levels of mangrove forest land, from 40.4 sq. km. in 1986 to 24.9 sq km in 2012, taking the loss to over 37%.
  • Jambudwip, one of the smallest uninhabited islands at the mouth of the sea, also has reduced forest cover from 6.095 sq. km. in 1986 to 5.003 sq. km. in 2012, or about 10%.
  • Other islands like Sajnekhali North, Matla and Bulchery have also suffered significant mangrove loss.
About Sunderbans:
  • The Sundarbans delta is the largest mangrove forest in the world and is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. It lies at the mouth of the Ganges.
  • The Sundarban Delta is situated on the border of India and Bangladesh, where the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mehgna rivers converge in the Bengal basin.
  • The area of Sundarbans is estimated in size at 10,000km2 (UNESCO). The area itself gets its name from the large number of Sundari (Heritiera fomes) trees in the region.
  • Free of permanent habitation and almost 70% covered by mangrove forest, this massive area is home to more than 400 Bengal tigers - possibly the highest concentration on the planet.
  • Accompanying the tigers are a plethora of other animals inlcuding a wealth of water birds, the fishing cat (Felis viverrinus), spotted deer (Cervus axis), crocodiles and snakes. Under the waters of the Sundarbans one can find the Ganges dolphin (Platanista gangetica), Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin (Sousa chinensis), Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides).
  • The Sundarbans National Park was inscribed in the UNESCO World heritage List in 1987 and the portion of the Sundarbans lying in Bangladesh was inscribed in 1997.

 

By: Vishal
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