Thanks to the menace of global warming, world’s largest mangrove forest is in dire strait. According to a UN report, as much as 75 per cent of Sunderbans would be destroyed if the sea level rises another 45 cm.
A latest UN publication, ‘Case Studies on Climate change and World Heritage’, said climate change poses a serious threat to the existence of Sunderbans, which figures in UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and that might expose both India and Bangladesh to the aftermaths of.disturbance in the Bay of Bengal.
The report said
Further destruction of the Sundarbans mangroves would diminish their critical role as natural buffers against tropical cyclones. The Bay of Bengal is heavily affected by tropical storms, about 10 per cent of the worlds tropical cyclones occur in this area and 17 per cent of these sweep the land in Bangladesh.
No matter whether the frequency or intensity of cyclones change in the future due to climatic disturbances, exposure of the region to the devastating effects of storms will increase if the mangroves cannot be conserved successfully.
Spread over 10,000 sq km, the mangroves have doubled up as natural buffers for cyclones and filters for estuarine, besides housing marine invertebrate species and fish.
Photo Credit: kolkatabirds