Sundarban is a mangrove area and formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in Bay of Bengal. The Sundarbans mangrove forest is one of the largest such forests in the world, occupying about 40,000km area in India. India. While this mangrove forest supports biodiversity, ecosystems services and sustainable development, the Sundarban delta is an ecologically fragile and climatically vulnerable regions. The most abundant tree species of this forest are Sundri, Gewa, Byne, Garjan, Goran. The soil stratum of the delta is in dynamic construction by the characteristic root systems of mangroves. The main cable root system of the mangrove trees, comprising of aerial pneumatophores and underground anchoring roots ,slow down the movement of tidal waters that results in the sediments to settle and build up the muddy bottom. Mangroves are known as natural carbon sinks as it takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store as blue carbon. Thus, it contributes heavily to reduce the warming of the earth and other ill effects of climate change. Sunderbans forest is one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in India containing about 453 faunal wildlife, including 290 bird, 120 fish, 42 mammal, 35 reptile,8 amphibian species and home for many rare and globally threatened wildlife species like the Royal Bengal tiger, Gangetic dolphin, Olive ridley turtle etc. The lives and livelihood of over 4.5 million people at Sundarban delta depend on the mangrove forest ranging from collection of honey, timber, leaves and herbs as food, fuel, hut/boat and ayurvedic medicines. Mangrove forest provide coastal protection through surge and wind suppression during tropical cyclones and often recover with time and continue to provide numerous societal benefits in the wake of storm events. The mangrove forest is very sensitive to pollution and declining at the rate of 1 percent per year due to climate change . Therefore, the sustainability of Sundarban delta requires a long-term vision that integrate climate adaptation and strategies for conservation of mangrove forest and its biodiversity.

1. Mangrove Forest
&
Sustainibility of Sundarban delta
Abhilasha Ganguly & Gairika Bhattacharya
Undergraduate Students (Semester II)
Department of Zoology
Seth Anandram Jaipuria College

2. Source:-
https://images.app.goo.gl/xpfxQ
4ao1LZbV3BaA
1.Location of mangrove forest:
The Delta "Sundarbans" is a mangrove area formed
by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and
Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans from the
Hooghly River of West Bengal, India to the Baleswar
River, Bangladesh
2.Area covered:It occupying 10,000square km of India &
Bangladesh where 40% lies in india
3.Nature of forest:
The dense Sundarbans mangrove forests are salt water
mixed forest, mangrove scrub, brackish water mixed
forest, littoral forest, wet forest and wet alluvial grass
forests.
4.Floral Composition and Speciallity: Halophytes,
the salt-tolerant plant species
5.Derivation of name of Sundarban :
From the word "Sundri“, the local name of the
mangrove species (Heritiera fomes), meaning in Bengali
the ‘beautiful forest’.

3. 1.Frequent cyclone, heavy rain, storm and flood
2.Loss of lands by erosion like heavy rains,
cyclones and engulfment by sea.
3. Low scope of cultivation for salinity of soil
4.Low scope for artificial culture for frequent
storm and flooding of lands.
5.Loss of biodiversity
6.Unstable life and livelihood of people living there Source:- https://www.bjp-
online.com/2020/01/sushavan-
nandy/

4. 1. Sustainability of Soil
2. Sustainability of environment
3. Sustainability in biodiversity
4. Sustainability of life and livelihood of people

5.  The soil stratum of the delta is in dynamic construction by the characteristic
root systems of mangroves.
 The main cable root system of the mangrove trees comprises of aerial
pneumatophores and underground anchoring roots.
 This slows down the movement of tidal waters that results in the sediments to
settle and build up the muddy bottom.
Source:-
https://images.app.goo.gl/T8LRDap
vUXqMQ4U96

6.  Mangroves can absorb different greenhouse gases like Methane, Carbondioxide
etc.
 These are known as natural carbon sinks and store it in their biomass for many years
as blue carbon.
 Thus, it contributes heavily to reduce the warming of the earth and other ill effects of
climate change.
[Sunderbans Mangrove Trees Losing Capacity to
Absorb CO2: Study by Pradipta Tapadar, Kolkata]Source:- https://images.app.goo.gl/y83jGckP3QUVa6nx6
A study financed by the Union
government and headed by noted
marine scientist Abhijit Mitra
estimated that in the central part of
Sunderbans near Matla, the
capability of Byne trees to absorb
carbon was 22 tonnes per hectare,
whereas the scenario is a bit
different in the eastern Sunderbans
where the capacity of Byne to
absorb carbons is near about 35
tonnes per hectare.

7. Source:- https://images.app.goo.gl/YChPdUDEGMFgM8NX9
Sundarban is the home for many rare and globally threatened wildlife species
like the Estuarine crocodile, Royal Bengal tiger, Water monitor lizard,
Gangetic dolphin, and Olive ridley turtle.

8.  Sunderbans has over 4.5million population.
 Man uses mangrove areas for the establishment of ponds for the culture of fish and
prawns, and for timber.
 Use the stem as fuel, to make huts,boat etc.
 Leaves are used to make parcels, serveware, shade of the hut or as compost .
 They use mangrove plants to cure some common as well as chronic disease.
Altogether 35 mangrove species having medicinal values which were used by the
Source:- https://images.app.goo.gl/896ZiCLRBPXP9YZq6
Source:- https://images.app.goo.gl/2TnRABtSqfG1z6u76

9.  Land cleaning for coastal development creates threat
to large area of mangrove.
 Increased erosion of lands by agriculture and grazing
causes sediment and nutrient loads at mangrove
forest.
 Sewage and agricultural outflow causes load of
sulphur and phosphorus to mangrove forest.
 Global sea level rise changes the area of mangrove
forest. Source:- https://geographyandyou.com/india-
biodiversity-mangrove- ecosystem-services

10. Mangrove forest
 Provide coastal protection through surge and wind suppression during
tropical cyclones and often recover with time
 Provide numerous societal benefits in the wake of storm events.
 Protect essential habitat for thousands of species.
 Stabilize shorelines, protect the land by preventing erosion and people from
waves and storm.
Source:-
https://images.app.goo.gl/pvhRn7ST7N6JwPXcA

11. mangrove forest is very sensitive to pollution and declining at the rate of 1
percent per year due to climate change and cyclones.
Therefore, the sustainability of Sundarban delta requires a long-term vision
that integrate climate adaptation and strategies for conservation of mangrove
forest and its biodiversity.
Source:-
https://www.change.org/p/save-
bengal-tigers-and-their-home-the-
sundarbans

12. • "Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife
Fund.
• Sarker, S.U. 1993. Ecology of Wildlife UNDP/FAO/BGD/85/011. Field Document N.
50 Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences. Chittagong, Bangladesh.
• Khan, M. M. H. (2004). Ecology and conservation of the Bengal tiger in the
Sundarbans Mangrove forest of Bangladesh (PDF) (PhD thesis). Cambridge:
University of Cambridge.
• Hussain, Z.; Acharya, G., eds. (1994). Mangroves of the Sundarbans. Volume 2,
Bangladesh. Bangkok: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources.
• Case Studies of Climate Change, UNESCO, 2007
• Tai Van Tang et al.Mangroves diversity and erosion mitigation performance in a
low salinity soil area: case study of Vinh City, Vietnam. Wetlands Ecology and
Management volume 28, pages163–176(2020)
• Sunderbans Mangrove Trees Losing Capacity to Absorb, Pradipta Tapadar Aug 4,
2014 in NATIONAL

13. We would like to thank Bijoy Krishna Girls' College,for
providing us with this great opportunity and giving us a chance
to embark on this project and present a paper on such a
beautiful and important subject
We also wish to express our gratitude to Dr. Ipsita Chanda
mam(Assistant Professor,other faculty membersDepartment of
Zoology, Seth Anandram Jaipuria College, Kolkata), as the
completion of this undertaking could not have been possible
without the enormous guidance, help and sincere assistance of
her, within the limited time frame.
Sincerely,
Abhilasha Ganguly
Gairika Bhattacharya