The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sunderbans located in the south-west of the country is the pride of Bangladesh. The forest is also a money-spinner. Every year, thousands of tourists-both local and foreign-come to this region to enjoy the beauty of nature. Large quantities of fishes are caught from the water bodies in the Sunderbans. Some 15 to 16 thousand tonnes of honey is harvested annually along with other forest products. There are some 3,500 species of trees and 4,500 species of wildlife and for this unique bio-diversity alone it was identified by UNESCO as worth protecting.

But the Sunderbans is facing threats from many sources. Due to the absence of lean flows of rivers fresh water cannot push the saline water back. Sundari trees cover a large part of this forest land but this species has been dying with rot taking hold at the top. This phenomenon is called 'top-dying’ and linked to excess saline waters. Apart from the salinity, human greed and plunder plays no small a part in the destruction of the forest. The Sunderbans now covers only 6,017 sq km. which is far smaller compared to its previous size. The forest in recent years have also been facing threats of fires. Cyclone Sidr last year caused widespread damages in the Sunderbans.

Clearly, urgent steps are required to save Bangladesh’s biggest forest when forests have largely disappeared in other parts of the country. The first task should be ensuring that forest department employees do their job sincerely. They will have to be made truly accountable for what they do or do not do that lead to destruction of the forest in any form. The government should engage in talks with the neigbouring country so that dry season flows of the rivers are ensured to help reduce salinity intrusion.