-Contributed by Dr. Debashis Mukherjee, eminent Advocate and Nature-Lover
A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are salt tolerant trees , also called halophytes and are adapted to life in harsh coastal conditions. They contain a complex salt filtration systems and complex root system to cope with salt water immersion and wave action. They are adapted to the low oxygen conditions of waterlogged mud. There are eighty different species of mangrove trees. The Bengali name "Sunderban" means beautiful forest. It may have been derived from the word Sundari or Sundri, the name of the mangrove species .
The Sunderbans Reserve Forest (SRF) located in the South West of Bangladesh between the river Baleswar in the East and the Harinbanga in the West adjoining to the Bay of Bengal, is the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world. The Sunderbans mangrove forest covers an area of about 10000 kms (3900 sq mi). It is a mangrove forest area in the Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers in the Bay of Bengal.
The Sunderbans flora is characterised by the abundance of Sundari , Gewa , Goran and Keora all of which occur prominently throughout the area. Forest inventories reveal a decline in standing volume of the two main commercial mangrove species e.g Sundari and Gewa by 40% and 45% respectively between 1959 and 1983.
In a study conducted in 2012, the Zoological Society of London found that the Sunderban coast was retreating upto 200 metres (660 ft) in a year.
Agricultural activities had destroyed around 17179 hectares of mangroves within three decades (1975 to 2010). Despite preservation commitments from both the Governments, the Sunderbans are under threat from both natural and human made causes.
In 2007, the landfall of cyclone Sidr damaged around 40 % of the Sunderbans. The forest is also suffering from increased salinity due to rising sea levels and reduced freshwater supply. Again in May 2009, cyclone Aila devastated Sunderban with massive casualties and damaged the mangrove forest. About 28% of the Sunderbans has been damaged by cyclone Amphan.
But after that cyclone, the trees which turned yellow were not mangrove trees, it was mostly due to the dense fog of saline water. Despite the massive plantation drives, it may take years to restore the mangroves. Due to illegal cutting, encroachment of forest areas, the mangrove forest is loosing biodiversity in an alarming rate. The forest ecosystem also has become vulnerable to pollution which may have changed the ecosystem ' s biogeochemistry.
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