Sundarbans | 18 May 2024

Source: Statesman

Why in News?

Recently, a study conducted by prominent environmental scientists has warned about the substantial threat of air pollution to the Sundarbans, an essential mangrove ecosystem in West Bengal.

What is Sundarbans?

• About:
  • The Sundarbans hosts the largest mangrove forests in the world, lying on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
  • The mangrove ecosystem is a ecotone between the land and the sea in the tropical and subtropical regions.
• Flora and Fauna:
  • Due to the ecotonic effect this zone fosters a rich blend of habitats, from freshwater swamps and intertidal mangroves to saline forests and open water.
    • The Sundarbans is a sanctuary for a wide variety of species from different habitats, including rare and globally threatened wildlife such as the estuarine crocodile, water monitor lizard, Gangetic dolphin, and olive ridley turtle.
• Protection:
  • 40% of Sundarban lies in India and the rest in Bangladesh.
  • It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 (India) and 1997 (Bangladesh).
  • Sundarban Wetland, India was recognised as the ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in January 2019.
  • Project Tiger: Royal Bengal Tigers in the Sundarbans are top predators that control prey populations, preventing overgrazing and maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystem.
    • Protecting tigers also safeguards a vast habitat for other plant and animal species, contributing to a healthy forest ecosystem in the Sundarbans.
  • In 2011, India and Bangladesh signed an MoU on Conservation of the Sundarbans, recognising the need to monitor and conserve the Sundarbans.

What are the Challenges Faced by the Sundarbans?

• Rising Sea Levels: A consequence of climate change, rising sea levels threaten to inundate low-lying mangroves. This saltwater intrusion disrupts their delicate balance and makes them more vulnerable to storm surges during cyclones.
• Increased Intensity of Cyclones: Climate change is also linked to more frequent and intense storms. These cyclones can batter mangroves, causing physical damage and disrupting sediment patterns crucial for their survival.
• Cash and Food Crops: The conversion of mangrove forests for agriculture like cash crops (palm oil) or food production (rice paddies) destroys their habitat.
  • This not only reduces the area available for these ecosystems but also fragments existing ones, impacting biodiversity.
• Loss of Ecosystem Services: Mangroves provide crucial services like shoreline protection and nursery grounds for fish. Deforestation disrupts these services, impacting coastal communities and fisheries.
• Threat to Wildlife: The loss of mangrove habitats due to climate change is leading to the loss of species in the near-threatened or endangered category.
  • Settlement mangroves used to be safe havens for diverse molluscs and crustaceans, but they are disappearing due to polluted discharges and breeding activities of these species.
• Effect of Pollutants: Pollutants, enriched with black carbon or soot particles, from nearby urban areas and the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain region are worsening the air quality of the Sundarbans, impacting its ecosystem.
  • These air pollutants significantly affect the ecology and biogeochemistry of the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem.

Way Forward

• Protecting Streambanks: Cultivating native grass species like wild rice, Myriostachya wightiana, biscuit grass, and salt couch grass can stabilise streambanks and prevent erosion, instead of introducing non-local species like vetiver, which are not salt-tolerant.
• Promoting Sustainable Agriculture: Promoting soil-tolerant paddy varieties and organic agriculture practices can increase agricultural productivity and income for farmers while minimising environmental impact.
  • Implementing rainwater harvesting and watershed development initiatives will further enhance agricultural production.
• Wastewater Treatment: Using natural processes and microorganisms for wastewater treatment, such as lactic acid bacteria and photosynthetic bacteria, can support water quality and ecosystem health.
• India-Bangladesh Collaboration: The India-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) should be transformed into a high-powered board of interdisciplinary experts to plan and implement climate resilience for the Sundarbans and the communities dependent on it.
• Innovative Solutions: The corrective measures include solar energy promotion,electric transportation, subsidised LPG, regulated tourism, closing down of pollutant factories, regulation of brick kilns and land use and strengthening of coastal regulations.
• Multi-Sectoral Approach: A multilayered approach to multi-engagement and multidimensional planning can be followed by the ministries of tourism, disaster management, agriculture, fisheries, and rural development.