The document discusses the Sunderbans, a vast mangrove forest located in the Ganges Delta region of India and Bangladesh. It is the largest mangrove forest in the world, covering over 1 million hectares of land and water. The Indian Sunderbans portion lies within West Bengal and contains diverse mangrove flora and fauna, including the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger. However, the ecosystem faces numerous threats from human activities like population growth, deforestation, pollution, and natural disasters. Proper management is needed to protect the fragile ecosystem and local communities that depend on its resources.

1. T H E S U N D E R B A N S – O U R H E RI T A G E
SHAKYA GANGULY
ADAMAS UNIVERSITY

2. COVERING 1,000,000 HA LAND AND
WATER SUNDERBANS WORLD’S GREATEST
DELTA FORMED BY SEDIMENTS OF THE
GANGES , BRAHMAPUTRA AND MEGHNA .
62 PERCENT IN BANGLADESH 38 PERCENT
IN INDIA , LARGEST CONTINUOUS BLOCK OF
MANGROVES IN THE WORLD .

3. MAP OF TOTAL SUNDERBAN

4. INDIAN SUNDERBANS LIES BETWEEN 21 0
32’ – 22 0
40’ NORTH
AND BETWEEN 88 0
85’ – 89 0
00 EAST WITHIN 24- PARGANAS
WEST BENGAL BOUNDED BY THE RIVER HOOGHLY TO THE WEST
, THE BAY OF BENGAL TO THE SOUTH , THE HARINBHANGA –
RAIMANGAL RIVER ALONG INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY WITH
BANGLADESH TO THE EAST AND THE DAMPIRE – HODGES LINE
TO THE NORTH .
THREE TOWNS , 1060 VILLAGES , OF THE 102 ISLANDS 54
INHABITED REST SUPPORT MANGROVES . 1951 CENSUS
POPULATION 12 LAKHS , 1991 32 LAKHS CURRENTLY 50 LAKHS
APPROX

5. MAP OF SUNDERBAN IN WEST BENGAL / INDIA

6. LYING AT THE APEX OF THE BAY OF BENGAL INDIAN
SUNDERBANS INCLUDE AREAS BORDERING THE
HOOGLY , MURIGANGA , SAPTAMUKHI ,THAKURAN ,
GOSABA , VIDYA , MATLA , HARINBHANGA
ESTUARIES .
ETYMOLOGY – SUNDERBAN = “ BEAUTIFUL – FOREST”,
MAY BE DERIVED FROM THE SUNDARI TREES ; MAY BE
A CORRUPTION OF SAMUDRABAN SEA FOREST OR
CHANDRA – BANDHE ( NAME OF A PRIMITIVE TRIBE )
ACCEPTED VIEW ASSOCIATED WITH SUNDARI TREES .

7. HISTORY TRACED BACK TO 200- 300 AD . RUINS OF CITY BUILT
BY CHAND SADAGAR FOUND IN BAGHMARA FOREST BLOCK .
MUGHAL KINGS LEASED THE FOREST OF THE SUNDERBANS TO
NEARBY RESIDENTS . PORTUGUESE PIRATES , SALT
SMUGGLERS , DACOITS DOMINATED IN THE 17 CENTURY
MAPPED FIRST IN PERSIAN IN 1764 AFTER PROPRIETARY
CONFISTATED FROM THE MUGHAL EMPEROR ALAMGIR II BY
THE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN 1757 . SYSTEMATIC
MANAGEMENT STARTED IN THE 1860 . MANAGEMENT WAS
ENTIRELY DESIGNED TO EXTRACT TREASURES AVAILABLE .

8. SUNDERBAN MANAGEMENT – SOME SALIENT POINTS
 SYSTEMATIC MANAGEMENT STARTED IN THE 1860S AFTER ESTABLISHMENT OF FOREST DEPT ,
BENGAL .
 MANAGEMENT DIVISION SUNDERBANS ESTD. 1N 1869
 LARGE PORTION OF THE MANGROVE FOREST DECLARED AS RESERVE FOREST IN 1875-76 UNDER
FOREST ACT 1865 .
 A FOREST DIVISION THE BASIC FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION CREATED IN 1879 HQ
KHULNA .
 FIRST MANAGEMENT PLAN IN 1893-98 .
 COMPLETION OF LATEST AND AUTHENTIC MAP OF SUNDERBANS BY STUART -1905-1908
 RESERVE FOREST -1963
 SUNDERBAN DEVELOPMENT BOARD – 1973
 SUNDERBAN TIGER RESERVE – 1973
 DECLARATION AS A NATIONAL FOREST – 1984
 SUNDERBAN BIOSPHERE RESERVE – 1989
 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE - 1984

9. CLIMATE – HUMID , TROPICAL , MARITIME CLIMATE
ANNUAL RAINFALL 1650 – 1800 MM IN NORTHERNS
AREAS , 2790 MM ON THE OUTER COAST
SUNDERBANS FORMED THROUGH THE DEPOSITION OF
SILT CARRIED DOWN BY THE BRAHMAPUTRA AND
GANGES AND BY VAST NUMBER OF TRIBUTARIES .

10. ECOREGIONS - TWO
• FRESH WATER SWAMP FOREST – REPRESENT
THE BRACKISH SWAMP FOREST LYING
BEHIND THE SUNDERBANS MANGROVES ,
PRONOUNCED SALINITY .
• SUNDERBAN MANGROVE ECOREGION
FORMS THE SEAWARD FRINGE OF THE DELTA
WORLD’S LARGEST MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM .
DOMINANT MANGROVE SPECIES HERITIERA
FOMES KNOWS AS SUNDARI

11. TOTAL WEST BENGAL SUNDERBAN AREA – 9630 KM2
;
AREA COVERED UNDER MANGROVE 4267 KM2
;
TOTAL FOREST COVER 2347 KM2
( 55 % ) ; TOTAL
WATER BODIES 1920 KM2
( 45 %) ; HUMAN
HABITATION + AGRIL LAND + BHERI FOR REARING
SALINE WATER FISH 5363 KM2
.
FLORA – TOTAL 245 GENERA AND 334 SPECIES
RECORDED BY DAVID PRAIN . ABUNDANCE OF
SUNDARI , GEWA , GORAN AND KEORA . 26 OF THE 50
BROAD LEAVED MANGROVES FOUND IN THE WORLD
GROW WELL IN THE SUNDERBANS .

12. FAUNA -A UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM AND A RICH WILD LIFE HABITAT .
ACCORDING TO 2011 TIGER CENSUS THERE ARE ABOUT 270 TIGERS ,
FISHING CATS , MACAQUES , WILD BOARS , COMMONGREY MANGOOSES ,
FOXES , JUNGLE CATS , FLYING FOX , PANGOLINS , SPOTTED DEER ARE IN
ABUNDANCE .
AVI FAUNA - RICH IN BIRD LIFE WITH 170 SPECIES . ENDEMIC BROWN
WINGED KINGFISHER GLOBALLY THREATENED LESSER ADJUTANTS AND
MASKE FIN FOOTS ARE DOMINANT . POPULAR BIRDS OPEN BILLED STORKS
, BLACK –HEADED EBIS , WATER HENS , SPOTTED DOVES , GREAT EGRETS .
DESIGNATED A RAMSAR SITE ON MAY , 1992
AQUA FAUNA - SAW FISH , BUTTER FISH . COMMON CARP , SILVER CARP ,
STAR FISH , KING CRAB , PRAWN , SHRIMPS ETC .
REPTILES – OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLES , SEA SNAKES , ESTUARINE
CROCODILES , CHAMELEONS , KING COBRAS , SALVATOR LIZARDS ETC.

13. ENDANGERED AND EXTINCT SPECIES – DECLINE IN
SUNDARI AND GEWA BY 40% AND 45 % . BETWEEN
1959 AND 1983 . CONSISTENT PATTERN OF LOSS OF
SPECIES ( NOTABLY SIX MAMMALS AND ONE REPTILE IN
THIS CENTUTRY )
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITION – 60% OF THE
POPULATION BELONGS TO UNDER DEVELOPED CLASS ,
30-35% MINORITIES AND OTHER CLASSES , 5-10% ARE
RELATIVELY RICH AND OF MIDDLE CLASSES . 80 PERCENT
PEOPLE DEPENDS ON AGRICULTURE , PISCICULTURE ,
PRAWN SHRIMP CULTURE , FISHING IN RIVERS AND
ESTUARIES , RAINFED MONOCROPING IS THE MAIN
LIVLIHOOD .

14. PROBLEMS -
 INCREASING POPULATION
 POACHING OF TREES
 SOIL DEGRADATION
 INDISCRIMINATE BUNDING IN RIVERS
 FREQUENT NATURAL CALAMITIES
 LARGE SCALE USE OF NYLON FISHING NETS
 INDISCRIMINATE USE OF PESTICIDES IN AGRICULTURE AND FISH FARMING
 USE OF IMPURE FUELS IN MOTOR / BHATBHATI
 DRAINAGE WATER WITH POLLUTANTS
 INDISCRIMINATE INCREASE OF BHERIS FOR PRAWN CULTURE
 RISING WATER TEMPERATURE
 RAISING OF CONCRETE RIVER BUNDHS
 RISING SEA WATER LEVEL DUE TO GREEN HOUSE EFFECT .

15. CONCLUSION – DESPITE A LONG HISTORY OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
SUNDERBANS HAS RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF FOREST COVER AND
DEGRADATION OF THE MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM . ANTHROPOGENIC STRESS
IN TERMS OF LAND USE , OVER EXPLOITATION AND POLLUTION
CONTINUES TO AFFECT THE MANGROVE FORESTS AND THEIR DEPENDANT
FLORAL AND FAUNAL COMMUNITIES . IN TURN THE DEGRADATION OF
RESOURCES HAS HAD REPERCUSSIONS ON THE SOCIO ECONOMIC
CONDITIONS OF THE GROWING POPULATION OF THE REGION .
• SUITABLE MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
APPROPRIATE ACTION PLANS TO OVERCOME THE FOLLOWING
PROBLEMS MIGHT IMPROVE THE SITUATION .
 EXPLOITATION OF THE MANGROVE FORESTS DUE TO HUMAN PRESSURE .
 CONVERSION OF MANGROVE AREAS FOR DIFFERENT AGRICULTURAL
PURPOSES
 DWINDLING OF FISHERIES
 LOSS OF FLORA AND FAUNA INCLUDING ENDANGERED SPECIES .

16. T H E E N D