Sundarbans Flashcards
Where is the Sundarbans?
A coastal zone occupying the worlds largest delta that extends over 10,000 km^2 of southern Bangladesh and India on the Bay of Bengal.
How is the Delta formed?
The delta is formed from the sediment deposited by three of the worlds great rivers, the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
What is the primary natural process that shapes the Sundarbans?
Tidal action
What flows across the clay and silt deposits?
A dense well-developed network of interconnecting river channels.
What are the characteristics of the larger channels?
Generally straight and up to two or more kilometres wide, flowing generally north to south due to the strong tidal currents.
What happens to the non-cohesive sediments like sand?
They are washed out of the delta and deposited on banks, or chars at the river mouths, where the string south-westerly monsoon winds then blow them into large ranges of sand dunes.
What are the natural challenges to the people of the Sundarbans?
- Coastal flooding
- Cyclones
- High levels of salinity in the soil
- Instability of the Islands
- Accessibility and remoteness
- Human-eating tigers
What are the human-induced challenges to the people of the Sundarbans?
- Over exploitation of coastal resources from vulnerable habitats
- Conversion of wetlands to intensive agriculture and settlements
- Destructive fishing techniques
- Lack of awareness of the environmental and economic importance of the region
- Resource-use conflicts
-Lack of awareness of coastal issues by decision makers
Examples of goods from the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans:
- Fuel - Firewood, charcoal
- Construction materials - Timber, poles, thatch
- Fishing materials - floats, poles, herbal poison
- Household items - furniture, glue, wax
- Food and drink - Fish, shrimp crab and molluscs; leaves and fruits; honey; cooking oil; alcohol; vinegar
- Textiles - Furs and skins; synthetic fibres; Tannins and dyes
- Other products - Aquarium fish, medicines, fodder for cattle and manure, paper
Examples of services from the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans:
- Protection - flooding, shoreline erosion, cyclone, wave
- Provision - breeding grounds, nursery grounds, fishing grounds, coastal livelihoods, local and global climate controls
- Maintenance - Biodiversity and genetic resources; ecosystem resilience; supports other coastal ecosystems; organic matter and fertility; soil formation and fertility; water catchment and ground water recharge; storage and recycling of organic material, nutrients and pollutants.
- Value - cultural spiritual and religious; educational and scientific information; recreation and tourism; heritage
What do the mangrove forests provide significant protection from?
- storm winds
- floods
- tsunamis
- coastal erosion
What said to be able to reduce the destructive force of a tsunami by up to 90%?
A density of 30 trees per 0.01 hectares.
How much is it estimated that one hectare of the mangrove forest is worth?
over $12,000
The mangroves could present resistance to poverty for the country which is one of the poorest in the world.
Why has there been significant investment in physical infrastructure?
Due to the ever present threat of natural disasters.
Why is the level of poverty and marginalisation of some coastal communities rising?
- Shrinking of the open access resources
- degradation of ecosystems
- Corruption of both local and national political institutions
- conflicts over land ownership
- Increasing deaths by tigers (widowed wives can struggle in a male dominated society, may not have finished education due to marrying early).
