SUSTAINABLE REHABILITATION OF MANGROVE FORESTS OF THE SUNDERBANS OF INDIA: AN INTEGRATED APROACH

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SUSTAINABLE REHABILITATION OF MANGROVE FORESTS OF
THE SUNDERBANS OF INDIA AN INTEGRATED APROACH

• GEO-ECOLOGICAL PROFILE
• STATUS OF FOREST BIODIVERSITY
• THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS
• THE EFFORTS ATTEMPTS
• THE INTEGRATED APPROACH
• THE STUDY MODEL

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SUNDARBAN GEO-ECOLOGICAL PROFILE

• Late Pleistocene alluvial deposits in the western
  Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta.
• 17th century- nearly 20,000 sq. miles of mangrove
  forest
• Presently-shrank to an area of 8,373 km², of
  which 4,264 km² occur in India, and the rest in
  Bangladesh.
• Eastward tilting of the delta, rapid sediment
  accumulation (to 0.7 cm/yr), marked land
  subsidence (to 0.5 cm/yr),
• large-scale land reclamation and decreased river
  flow influx. 

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STATUS OF FOREST BIODIVERSITY

• The Sunderbans contains 37 species of 'obligate'
  mangrove plants stretched over an area of 2,200
  km2, the largest diversity of mangrove plants on
  the Globe. This is also the only mangrove area on
  earth that is inhabited by tigers. In addition,
  it also contains 127 species of euryhaline fish,
  a total of 1287 animal species comprising 873
  invertebrates, one species of Hemichordata, and
  413 species of vertebrates.

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THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

• Anthropogenic impacts like reclamation, human
  encroachment, continuous embankments
• Geomorphic stress caused by the neo-tectonic
  tilting of the Bengal basin,
• Recurrent coastal flooding due to climate
  change, changes in sea level
• Huge silt deposition, Biodiversity loss and
  regeneration problems of obligate mangrove plants
  
• High salinity, low water table (100mt) and
  problem of acid sulphur soil loss of soil
  fertility, coastal erosion and a steep fall in
  fishery resources

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THE EFFORTS ATTEMPTS

• Artificial regeneration in the reclaimed bank
  areas.
• The declaration of the entire inter-tidal zone of
  9,630km2 as a Biosphere Reserve.
• Natural regeneration aided by community
  participation in the form of a joint forestry
  management programme. Part of the degraded
  mangrove within the forest area have been
  converted to dense mangrove.

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THE INTEGRATED APPROACH
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NARAYANTOLA THE STUDY MODEL.

• Alternate Farming and Silvipisciculture
• Visit and Training to local stakeholders
• Ecofreindly agro-practices, cultivating tolerant
  varieties, harvesting bioactive resources.
• Economic Incentives for conservation
• Locality based pollution management
• Research Regeneration problems and stress
  factors of immediate importance.
• Monitor Sustainability and development.

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NarayantolaThe Study Model Habitat
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NarayantolaThe Study Model People