Increasing human pressures and ecosystem changes are posing combined threat to the population of endangered Royal Bengal tigers, in Sundarbans. This has been stressed in an expert study titled ‘Sharing Lessons on Mangrove Restoration’.
This has been conducted by the International Union For Conservation of Nature The Sundar-bans cover 10,000 sq km of land and water of the two countries of India and Bangladesh. About 4,200 sq km of the forests are in India, in the southern fringe of West Bengal.
The study notes that it has one of the highest human pressures of 1,100 persons per square km which is amongst the highest in any tiger sanctuary in the country. This adds up to a total of about 4.2 million people live on the edge of the tiger habitat resulting in high anthropogenic pressures on the mangroves and their resources.
The report further adds that in recent years, climate change, regulation of freshwater flow, illicit mangrove felling, poaching and unplanned embankments for settlements have emerged as the main threats to the ecosystem.
The impact of climate change has made the island vulnerable to tidal storms and cyclones. Depleting mangrove cover has made the islands more vulnerable to the erratic climate conditions. The mangroves act as natural barricades against these storms reducing the force of the gushing tides.
The central part of the Indian Sundarbans receives almost no fresh water because of heavy siltation and clogging of the Bidyadhari channel.
“Seawater intrusion has further affected the growth of dominant mangrove species such as the freshwater-loving Heritiera fomes. The influence of salinity and effects of climate change, though not well-understood, appear to be promoting the invasion of alien species in some parts of the Sundarbans,” the report adds.
