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The Sundarban is a delta
formed at the confluence of the rivers Ganges and
Brahmaputra with the Bay of Bengal in India and
Bangladesh. It is the world's largest mangrove forest
area. The Indian part of the Sundarban covers an area
of 9630 sq. kms, The Sundarban Tiger Project covers an area of 2585 sq. kms
of which the core area is 1330 sq. kms. This core area
is a National Park. The Indian Sundarban has been
recognized to be a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It is
also on the list of IUCN as a World Heritage Site.
The Sundarban is
popularly believed to mean "beautiful forests", deriving
its name from the "Sundari" tree (Heritiera fomes). Here
the tide comes twice daily, over a large area deepening
old channels and cutting new ones. The soils are forever
shifting and the maps of Sundarban never accurately
depict its constant transformation.
The Sundarban exhibit a
ferocity that is rarely seen in other places. Cyclones
are common in coastal areas of the Sundarban and have
been responsible for widespread death and destruction.
This is also the land of the Royal Bengal tiger, with a
propensity for man-eating.
Sundarban offers bountiful natural resources, invaluable
tropical mangals, fresh and marine fishes and other
aquatic organisms, endangered Royal Bengal tigers,
spotted deer, crocodiles, dolphins, batagur baska,
numerous avifauna and other faunas. In contrast, quite
frequently it has to face tremendous loss of life and
property because of its proneness and susceptibility to
natural hazards viz. tropical cyclone, tidal upsurge &
flash flood, coastal erosion, increasing salinity both
in soil and water. These natural hazards along with
human interference adversely affected the growth of
human settlement throughout the early history of
Sundarban. |
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