Presentation on Sundarban, Bangladesh

Sundarban is the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest.

1. Welcome to our presentation

2. Welcome to the Sundarban

3. The Gewa group is very glad The audience are here.

4. Introducing with group members M. S. Mahmud Klanti (ER-14001) Mitu Ghosh (ER-14009) Md. Ariful Hasan (ER-14011) Sadia Akter (ER-14023) Saima Sharmin (ER-14025) I. V. Parvin (ER-14039) Afroza Khatun (ER-14040) Tasmia Binte Faruk (ER-14051) Luthfor Rahman (ER-14054) Manik Shil (ER-13024) (Absent)* Tawhida Akter (ER-13053)

5. Presentation preview Introduction Location Areas of Sundarban in Bangladesh) Geo-ecological profile Climate Sunderban’s flora and fauna Tourism Services of Sundarban Sundarban in Danger How to combat the situation Management challenges Tiger of sundarban and our motto

6. Introduction Literally translated as "beautiful jungle" Lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal. Covers 10,000 sq.km. of which about 6,000 sq.km. is in Bangladesh.

7. Location Sundarban Mangrove Forest

8. Location

9. Sundarban is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world and recognised as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997

10. Type Area (km 2 ) Percent Forest area 3997 66 Sandbars, grass, bare ground 115 2 Rivers 1905 32 Total SRF (of which 1397 km 2   represented by 3 wildlife sanctuaries ) 6017 100 Areas in Sundarban (Bangladesh) Source: Forest Resources Management Project 1998 (modified)

11. SUNDARBAN : GEO-ECOLOGICAL PROFILE The forest floor is 0.91m to 2.11m above mean sea level. The soil is a silty clay loam with alternate layers of clay, silt and sand. Rivers in the Sundarbans are meeting places of salt water and freshwater. It is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. Sundarbans is divided into three distinct ecological zones namely Oligohaline zone , Mesohaline zone , Polyhaline zone

12. Climate Classified as tropical moist forest . The average annual maximum and minimum temperatures vary between 30º and 21ºC . High temperatures occur from mid-March to mid-June and low in December and January. The mean maximum temperature for the hottest months has been recorded as 32.4ºC at Patuakhali , in the east of the Sundarbans . The mean annual relative humidity varies from 70% at Satkhira to 80% at Patuakhali . Humidity is highest in June-October and lowest in February. Annual rainfall in the Sundarbans is in the range of 1640-2000 mm , rainfall increases from west to the east. Most rainfall occurs during the monsoon.

13. ` Sunderban has a rich and diversified flora and fauna.

14. Flora of Sundarban A variety of plants including trees, shrubs, grasses, epiphytes, and lianas. Most trees have pneumatophores for aerial respiration . The prominent species is Sundari ( Heritiera fomes ) and Gewa ( Excoecaria agallocha ). Prain (1903) recorded 334 species under 245 genera . Of these 17 are pteridophytes , 87 monocotyledons and the rest are dicotyledons . The plant species include 35 legumes , 29 grasses , 19 sedges , and 18 euphorbias . Of the 50 true mangrove plant species recorded, the Sundarbans alone contain 35 In the Sundarbans where Gewa ( E. agallocha ), Goran ( Ceriops decandra ), Keora ( Sonneratia apetala ), Ora ( S. caseolaris ), Passur ( Xylocarpus mekongensis ), Dhundul ( X. granatum ), Bain ( Avicennia alba, A. marina, A. officinales ), and other rhizophores , and Hantal ( Phoenix pelludosa )  dominate.

15. Mangrove Flora

16. Mangrove Flora

17. Fauna of Sundarban It is the last stronghold of the Bengal tiger   ( Panthera tigris ) Important Animal Species: Mammals are 49, Birds are 314 /320 , Reptiles are 50, Amphibious are 8. Endangered Species: Mammals are 10, Birds are 11, Reptiles are 16, Amphibious are 1 .

18. Mangrove wild life and animals Tigers, Chital Deer, Rhesus Monkey,Red fiddler crabs and Hermit crabs, Ridley Sea Turtle, king cobra, Rock python and Water monitor etc .

19. Tourism Sundarban plays an important role in tourism every year. Each year ~ 80,000 tourists visited Sundarbans , 98% native and 2% foreigners Foreign tourism is contributed 42,000 US$/ yr in our economy. The foreign businessmen are investing on sundarban related project .

20. Natural Beauty

21. Famous spots Hiron Point ( Nilkamal ) for tiger, deer, monkey, crocodiles, birds and natural beauty. Katka for deer, tiger, crocodiles, varieties of birds and monkey, morning and evening symphony of wild fowls. Tiger Point provide opportunities for wild tracking . Tin Kona (Island) for tiger and deer . Dublar Char (Island) for fishermen. It is a beautiful island where herds of spotted deer are often seen to graze

22. Provisioning services Raw materials: Timber production: The average annual harvest ~ 4000 m 3 /year with estimated revenue earning 0.4 million US$ per year based on 2015 (conversion 75 BD Taka = 1US$ Food production: Finfish, crustaceans and honey are the major food products Finfish and crustaceans: ~ 41.3 million US$/yr Shrimp farming: ~ 360 million US$/yr Honey: average 218 Mt/yr or ~ 0.727 million US$/yr

23. Provisioning services (con.) Non-timber forest products Thatching materials, wax and fuel wood are the major non-timber forest products supplied by Sundarbans mangrove forest Fuelwood : 26,500 Mt/yr or 0.54 million US$/yr Thatching material ,mostly golpata ( Nypa fruticans Wurmb ) used for roof covering : 75 600 Mt or 1.9 million US$/yr Tanning production : average 10000 Mt/yr or ~ 2.0 million US$/yr Wax production : average 53.5 Mt/yr or 0.036 million US$/yr

24. Traditional Honey Collection

25. Regulating services Carbon sink : Sundarbans is treated as a global carbon sink with ~ 205 Mt CO 2 per year (FD 2011). The value of this carbon would be US$ 5.13 billions which could contribute to national economy by selling carbon credit in the global carbon market

26. Regulating services (con.) Coastal protection: Bangladesh situated in tropical cyclone prone area and 12 catastrophic cyclones hit the Sundarbans since 1900 . Based on a study Mukherjee et al. (2014) the value of mangrove forest for coastal protection around 8459.12 US$/ha/yr which equivalent to 5.11 billion US$/yr in Bangladesh part .

27. Cultural services Spiritual Sundarbans has a significant spiritual importance for the local and neighbouring communities. Rush Mela (spiritual festive, November): Every year 40-50 thousand people join the celebrations and the estimated money flow during the event ~ 0.75 million US$/yr Bonbibi is a guardian spirit of the forests residents of the Sundarbans

28. Ecosystem services linkage to poverty alleviation Ecosystem services of Sundarbans have significant contribution for poverty alleviation in the local community . Around 25-34% people within the Sundarbans area are extremely poor (earn 1≤ US$/day) (World bank Report 2010). 0.75 million people are directly dependent on this ecosystem (IPAC 2010 ) 20,000 woodcutters ( bawalis ) and 7,000 seasonal honey collectors ( mouals ) depend on the Sundarbans Women also make up 50% of workers in shrimp processing centers ( Karim et al. 2006)

29. Sundarban in Danger !!!!! Sea-level rising Cutting tree randomly Destroy eco-system Hunting the animals Stealing valuable wood Climate change Natural dislocation

30. Bangladesh and its potential impacts Year 2020 2050 2100 Sea level rise 10 cm 25 cm 1 m (high end estimate) Land below SLR 2 % of land (2,500 km 2 ) 4 % of land (6,300 km 2 ) 17.5% of land (25,000 km 2 ) Ecosystem Inundates 15% of the Sundarbans . Inundates 40% of the Sundarbans . The Sundarbans wouldbe lost . Salinity Increase Increase Increase Sea level rise

31. How to combat the sea level rising Designing and establishing sea-level / climate modeling network Establishing databases and information systems Data collection of Sundarbans ' resources and their uses Integrated coastal and marine management Monitoring the impact of climate change on coral reef, Royal Bengal Tiger, crocodiles and Sundari tree Coastal vulnerability and risk assessment

32. How to combat the sea level rising (con.) Economic valuation of Sundarbans ' resources Improving catchment management Afforestation and reforestation by salt tolerant species Increasing waterfront setbacks in beach front areas Education on climate change and emergency

33. Depleted Mangrove Forest

34. “ Aila ” In the last few decades depletion of the Mangrove Forest is observed due to Geo-climatic changes in the region including sudden effect of natural disaster like “ Aila (2009)” .

35. Man made hazards In August 2010 , a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and India 's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) where they designated to implement the coal based Rampal power station by 2016. The proposed project, on an area of over 1834 acres of land, is situated 14 kilometres north of the sundarbans largest mangrove  

36. Risk of RAMPAL Risk of Rampal

37. On 9 December, 2014 an oil-tanker named Southern Star VII , carrying 358,000 of furnace oil , was sunk in the Sela river of Sundarbans after it had been hit by a cargo vessel. The oil spread over 350 km 2 (140 sq mi) area after the clash, as of December 17. Oil tanker Accident

38. Impact on Wildlife

39. How to combat the situation 1. Conservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife: – Prevention and control of pollution – Afforestation and regeneration of degraded areas – Protection of the environment, and – Ensuring the welfare of animals.

40. How to combat the situation (con.) 2. These objectives are fulfilled by the Ministry primarily through: – Environmental impact assessment eco-regeneration, – Assistance to organisations implementing environmental and forestry programmes , – Assistance to organisations including animal welfare programmes , – Promotion of environmental and forestry research, extension, education and training,

41. How to combat the situation (con.) – Creation of environmental awareness among all sectors of the country’s population. – Accomplishing environmental law 3. Public awareness – Government taking to proper steps for Sundarban – Improvement communication facilities – Security for tourism

42. Management challenges 1. Difficult terrain and poor Infrastructure . 2. Porous international border . 3. Extremely poor fringe Population . 4. Man animal conflict . 5. Water pollution . 6. Global warming . 7. Soil erosion . 8. Exponential increase in number of mechanized boats 9. Large number of vacancies in frontline staff , etc.

43. Wild Tiger Population Survey in Sundarban , Bangladesh Year Organization/ Writer Estimated number Estimation method 1975 Hendrichs 350 Interview with forest department and local people 1971 Forest Department 320 - 1982 Forest Department, Zoology Department, DU 450 Pugmark Method 1992 Forest Department 359 Interview with the forest worker 1993 Dr. K. M. Tamang 362 Pugmark Method 2004 Forest Department and United Nation Development Program (UNDP) 440 ( Male-121 , Female-298 and Calf-21) Pugmark Method

44. Human conflict with tiger

45. Present condition Bangladesh Sundarbans has tiger occupancy of 4832 square kilometers and estimated population of 83 to 130 tigers with a midpoint of 106. ( Tiger Status Report 2015, prepared by the Forest Department with support of the World Bank)

46. Lets save the tigers Thanks for hearing us. Any question, Please?