Sundarbans

Question 1

location of sundarbans

Answer 1

area of Mangrove forest in southern Bangladesh and southern India

Question 2

size of sundarbans

Answer 2

10,000 kilometres, contains largest Delta in the world

Question 3

what rivers run through it?

Answer 3

Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.

Question 4

how is the land created ?

Answer 4

fluvial deposits of the three rivers running through it. the force of the tide shapes the landscape, which consists of interconnected river channels which flow across deposits of silt and mud.

Question 5

what are Khals?

Answer 5

smaller interconnected channels which drain the land after each powerful Ebb tide

Question 6

what are Chars?

Answer 6

roughly sand sized material is washed away to form banks at the mouth of the river. example: Dubiar Char

Question 7

how are the mangrove forrests formed?

Answer 7

the SW prevailing wind blows sediment at coast to create large ranges of sand dunes. this creates lower energy environments behind the dunes in which small material can be deposited to form islands. if natural succession is allowed to occur, these will be colonised by halophytic plants and will eventually become the dense mangrove forest

Question 8

opportunities for humans: goods

Answer 8

fuel construction materials fishing materials household items food and drink, textiles paper as well as medicines and feed for cattle

Question 9

opportunities for humans: services

Answer 9

protection - mangrove forests and sand dunes dissipate wave energy to prevent shoreline erosion and act as a barrier against flooding and storm surgers caused by cyclones
provision - mangrove forests act as breeding ground for animals for food supply. helps with carbon capture which reduces the effect of global warming
maintenance - regular flooding creates nutrient rich soil
income/value - tourism for bengal tiger and other wildlife. rivers are of great cultural and religious significance

Question 10

human challenges

Answer 10

over exploitation of vulnerbale coastal habitats causes a lowering of biodiversity (intensive fishing/ agriculture)
lack of understanding of environmental and economic importance
conflicts over resources

Question 11

natural challenges

Answer 11

risk of being eaten by bengal tigers(50 people a year, around 100 tigers) or other wildlife
flooding due to glacio eustatic sea level rise
instability of islands
weather e.g cyclones
lack of accessability/remoteness

Question 12

resilence to challenges: mangrove forest

Answer 12

provides shelter against storm winds, floods tsunamis and coastal erosion.
the 30 trees per 0.1 hectares reduces tsunami destructiveness by 90%

Question 13

resilence to challenges: economic value

Answer 13

despite flood risk, high value due to traditional activites such as fishing, gathering timber and tannin production
one hectare mangrove = $12,000
could provide strong poverty resistance to one of the poorest economies in the world

Question 14

Bangladesh ICZM scheme

Answer 14

created in 2005, to help local people pursue sustainable economic development. aimed to reduce poverty by increasing peoples resiliance through schemes such as micro credit schemes to help farmers improves production and reduce poverty gap.

Question 15

what is the coastal embankment project?

Answer 15

5000 kilometres of embankments have been built in the form of 123 barrier dams.

Question 16

problems with the coastal embankment project

Answer 16

led to greater deposition within drainage channels which lowers the carrying capacity of the channels and makes the ebankments less effective. also, less flooding can lead to less nutrient rich soil

Question 17

how can the mangrove forests be a mitigation method?

Answer 17

dissipate wave energy to prevent erosion aswell as lowering the wave height to help create a strong barrier against flooding

Question 18

what is Khas land?

Answer 18

government owned land protected so that farmers who have lost their land due to flooding can use it. other locals can also use it

Question 19

what investment has their been?

Answer 19

flood/cyclone shelters - East Midnapore
infrastructure - roads, telecomunications, schools, hospitals.
these all help to mitigate the risks posed by natural disasters

Question 20

why has the level resistance decreased recently?

Answer 20

poverty and marginalisation of some coastal communities have increased. this is due to the shrinking of the open acess resources, the degrading of the local ecosystem, the corruption of local and national political institutions, conflicts over land ownership and increasing deaths by tigers. Additionally, if wives are widdowed then they may face very limited opportunities in the male dominated society.

Question 21

what does adapting to consequences mean?

Answer 21

learning to live with the effects of the natural disasters

Question 22

what is the benefit of storm shelters/how many have been built?

Answer 22

2000 multi-storm shelters have been built for 27% of the coastal population, which is roughly 28 million people. when not in use these shelters are used as markets or schools

Question 23

what are Killas?

Answer 23

raised to keep livestock safe as indigenous people rely on them.

Question 24

how many killas have been built

Answer 24

1500, although this isnt nearly enough.

Question 25

what have USAID done?

Answer 25

trained 30,000 people on increasing farm productivity. and using salt tolerant species of rice. also put in clean water storage tanks

Question 26

what have the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) done?

Answer 26

salt tolerant rice species to allow production in times of flooding.
however farmers cant afford them and they can only cope with 10% of the salinity in flood water

Question 27

problems with salt tolerant rice strains

Answer 27

however farmers cant afford them and they can only cope with 10% of the salinity in flood water

Question 28

what is hydrophonics?

Answer 28

they are floating farms. farmers collect plants such as hyacinth leaves and paddy stalks. these are beaten into shape to form a raft upon which seedlings are planted. low cost solution, only £73 per raft

Question 29

issues with hydrophonics?

Answer 29

must be placed in tranquil water, safe from tides and waves. as the sea rises these areas will become less and less.

Question 30

place specifics: Dhaka

Answer 30

300,000 - 400,000 migrants arrive each year partly due to sea rise

Question 31

place specifics: Sagar Island

Answer 31

primary school destroyed in 2017, people had to move with it (0.5km inland) or become climate change refugees

Question 32

place specifics: Khulna Division and West Bengal

Answer 32

areas most affected by sea level rise

Question 33

by 2050….

Answer 33

population of 200 million, a 30 million increase from 2021.

Question 34

what percentage of people live in coastal areas less than 10m above sea level?

Answer 34

10%

Question 35

what is happening at Banaripara?

Answer 35

using hydrophonics and salt tolerant