The Sundarbans

The Sundarbans

Bangladesh is a beautiful country. A lot of natural beautiful places are available here and there in Bangladesh. Sunderbans is one of them. It is a natural region comprising five districts of Bangladesh and a small part in India. The Sundarbans forest lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal formed by the super confluence of the Ganges, Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers across southern Bangladesh. It is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans covers approximately 10,000 square kilometers most of which is in Bangladesh. The mangrove-dominated Ganges Delta – the Sundarbans – is a complex ecosystem comprising one of the three largest single tracts of mangrove forests of the world. To the south the forest meets the Bay of Bengal; to the east it is bordered by the Baleshwar River and to the north there is a sharp interface with intensively cultivated land. The Sundarbans is seems to be the lung of Bangladesh. It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997 and enlisted among the finalists in the new 7 Wonders of Nature.

Crocodile in water and tiger at land, its Sundarbans. The name Sundarbans can be literally translated as "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language ". The name may have been derived from the Sundari trees that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers. A total 245 genera and 334 plant species were recorded by David Prain in 1903. The Sundarbans flora is characterized by the abundance of sundari, gewa, goran and keora all of which occur prominently throughout the area. The characteristic tree of the forest is the sundari, reproduce among the tangled mass of roots, known as pneumatophores, which grow upward from the anaerobic mud to get the supply of oxygen. It yields a hard wood, used for building houses and making boats, furniture and other things. There is abundance of dhundul or passur, kankra, palms, golpata; among grasses spear grass and khagra are well distributed. It is famous for the dangerous-beautiful Royal Bengal Tiger. There are about 400 Royal Bengal Tiger in this forest. More than 30,000 fantastic spotted deer as well as crocodiles, varieties of birds, monkey, snakes and many other wild animals are available here. Fishing cats, macaques, wild boars, common grey mongooses, foxes, jungle cats, flying foxes and pangolins, are also found in abundance in the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is an important wintering area for migrant water birds and is an area suitable for watching and studying avifauna.

The main tourist point is Hiron Point for watching tiger, deer, monkey, crocodiles, birds and natural beauty. Katka is for watching deer, tiger, crocodiles, varieties of birds and monkey. Morning and evening symphony of wild fowls. Vast expanses of grassy meadows running from Katka to Kachikhali 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. Here land and water meet in many novel fashions, Wildlife presents many a spectacle. No wonder, you may come across a Royal Bengal Tiger swimming across the streams or the crocodiles basking on the river banks. With the approach of the evening herds of

deer make for the darkling glades where boisterous monkeys shower Keora leaves from above for sumptuous meal for the former. For the botanist, the love of nature, the poet and the painter this land provides a variety of wonder for which they all crave. The Sundarbans plays an important role in the economy of the southwestern region of Bangladesh as well as in the national economy. It is the single largest source of forest produce in the country. The forest provides wood, timber, fuel wood, pulpwood etc. and non-wood forest products such as thatching materials, honey, beeswax, fish and crustacean and mollusk resources.

The forest has immense protective and productive functions. Constituting 51% of the total reserved forest estate of Bangladesh, it contributes about 41% of total forest revenue and accounts for about 45% of all timber and fuel wood output of the country. The vegetated tidal land of the Sundarbans function as an essential habitat produces nutrients and purifies water. It provides natural protection to life and properties of the coastal population in cyclone-prone Bangladesh. The forest also traps nutrient and sediment, acts as a storm barrier, shore stabilizer and energy storage unit. Last but not the least, the Sunderbans provides an aesthetic attraction for local and foreign tourists. The interconnected network of waterways makes almost every corner of the forest accessible by boat. Every year thousands of locals and foreigners come to Bangladesh to visit this unique mangrove forest and they enjoy its dazzling beauty as well as peace and tranquility in the wilderness very much.