Coasts - Sundurbans Flashcards
1
Q
location of the sundurbans:
A
large network of rivers and small islands that are spread across India and Bangladesh
2
Q
physical environment
A
- largest mangrove area in the world, prone to flooding
3
Q
facts about mangroves
A
- traps 4x more carbon than regular trees
- potential to withstand up to 90% of a tsunamis force
- can grow in saline water
- can improve water quality, and their underwater roots protect small organisms from predators
4
Q
challenges in the sundurbans:
A
- 42% of the population is below the poverty line
- 6% of the population don’t have electricity
- shrimp farming is heavily polluting for ecosystems and is dominated by large companies that exploit workers
5
Q
opportunities in the sundurbans
A
- good fishing grounds
- successful shrimp farming industry
- mangrove timber used for construction and as a natural building stone
6
Q
human responses/management strategies:
A
- replanted 50,000 saplings in 2015
- providing prey to the Bengal tiger to reduce the number of attacks
- introducing ecotourism
- adapting farmland that has been flooded with salt water by growing salt tolerant rice
