Sundarbans

Question 1

Where is the Sundarbans located?

Answer 1

Worlds largest delta that extends 10000km over southern Bangladesh and India on the Bay of Bengal

Question 2

What is it formed from?

Answer 2

3 of the worlds largest rivers, the Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Meghna

Question 3

What are the coastal processes that take place?

Answer 3

Tidal action= primary process shaping the landscape
Interconnecting rivers flow across the clay and silt deposits
Non-cohesive sediment like sand is washed out of the delta and deposited on banks
The westernly winds blow them back to form sand dunes
Vegetation establishes itself and eventually if succession occurs then dense mangrove forests can develop

Question 4

What are some human challenges?

Answer 4

Over exploitation of coastal resources
Conversion of wetlands to settlements
Destructive fishing techniques
Lack of awareness of coastal issues by decision makers (people who are making the decisions dont know the effect of them)

Question 5

What are some physical challenges?

Answer 5

Coastal flooding
Cyclones
Instability of the islands
Accessibility and remoteness
Human eating tigers

Question 6

How are they resilliant to the challenges?

Answer 6

Mangrove forests provide shelter and protection from:
Storm winds
Tsunamis
Coastal erosion 
Floods

Question 7

How does 30 trees effect the severity of a tsunami?

Answer 7

30 trees per 0.01 hectare reduces the severity of a tsunami by 90%

Question 8

What else makes them resiliant?

Answer 8

Fertility of the soil supply means their is a suppy of nutritious foods available

Question 9

How much economic value does 1 hectare of forest have?

Answer 9

$12000, meaning despite the risks, they still use the forest

Question 10

Why might resilliance decline?

Answer 10

Shrinking open spaces
Increased number of deaths by tigers, meaning there are limited opportunities for women as many marry young and then become widows
Conflict over land ownership

Question 11

How do they mitigate over the challenges?

Answer 11

Strength of each communities resources helps mitigate the impacts/challenges
Investment into infrastructure- schools, hospitals, cyclone shelters and food protection
Many have good levels of social capital from the legal frameworks provided by NGOs

Question 12

How have they adapted?

Answer 12

Grass root NGOs run education programmes to encourage farmers to return to traditional ecofriendly methods
Multipurpose cyclone shelters that double up as schools built
Salt tolerant rice variations have been introduced
Water tight containers have been provided to put belongings in