The Sundarbans Bangladesh Flashcards
The Sundarbans is a coastal zone containing the worlds largest what?
It contains the worlds largest delta that extends over 10,000km2 of Southern Bangladesh and India on the Bay of Bengal.
Which 3 rivers deposit sediment into the delta?
Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
What is the primary natural process that shapes the distinctive coastal landscape?
Tidal action.
What flows across the clay and silt deposits?
A dense, well-developed, network of interconnecting river channels flows across the clay and silt deposits.
What has traditionally remained static?
The location network of main channels remained quite static.
Why did the main channels remain quite static?
This is because the silt and clays were quite resistant to erosion.
What are the larger channels generally like?
They are generally straight and up to 2 or more km wide.
Why do the main channels flow from north to south?
This is due to strong tidal currents.
What drains the land with each powerful ebb tide?
The extensive network of interconnecting khals drains the land with each strong ebb tide.
What are khals?
These are small channels.
What happens to the non-cohesive sediments?
Sands are washed out of the delta and deposited on banks, or chars at the river mouths, where strong south-westerly monsoon winds blow them into large ranges of sand dunes.
What happens to the finer silts?
They are deposited.
What is home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger?
Mangrove forests.
What is very delicate here?
The equilibrium of the natural processes.
What may be jeopardizing its very existence?
Increasing pressures.
What is an important ecosystem for local populations?
The mangrove forests.
What provides a range of goods and services?
The mangrove forests.
What has surprisingly not been a problem?
Coastal erosion.
What are the 6 natural challenges of this coastal area?
Coastal flooding Cyclones Human-eating tigers High levels of salinity in soils Instability of the islands Accessibility and remoteness.
What are the 6 human challenges?
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.
What are the 7 key goods that the Sundarbans provide?
Fuel Construction materials Fishing materials Household items Food and drink Textiles Other products
What two types of fuel does the mangrove forest provide?
Firewood and charcoal.
What construction materials does the Sundarbans provide?
Timber
Poles
Thatch
What fishing materials can be found in the mangrove forests?
Poles
Herbal poisons
Floats
What household items do the mangrove forests provide?
Furniture
Glue
Wax
What food and drink does the mangrove forest provide?
Cooking oil Alcohol Fish, shrimp, crab and molluscs Leaves and fruits Honey Vinegar
What textile products do the mangrove forests provide?
Furs and skins
Synthetic fibres
Tannins and dyes
What other products do the mangrove forests provide?
Aquarium fish
Medicines
Paper
What four services do the mangrove forests provide?
Protection
Provision
Maintenance
Value
What protection does the mangrove forest bring?
Floods Strong winds Tsunamis Shoreline erosion Cyclone, wave
What provision does the mangrove forest survive?
Breeding grounds Nursery grounds Fishing grounds Coastal livelihoods Local and global climate controls
What maintenance do the mangrove forest provide?
Biodiversity and genetic resources
Regulation of ecosystem processes and functions
Ecosystem resilience
Supports other coastal ecosystems
Organic matter and fertility
Soil formation and fertility
Water catchment and groundwater discharge
Storage and recycling of organic material, nutrients and pollutants.
What is the value of the mangrove forests?
Cultural, spiritual and religious
Educational and scientific information
Recreation and tourism
Heritage
How have the local population managed to live successful lives?
They work with their environment rather than against it which has allowed them to successful cope with many of the challenges that they face.
True or false: this landscape isn’t low lying?
This is false, the landscape is low-lying.
What is a key word to remember when talking about the local population?
They are resilient.
A density of how many trees per 0.01 hectares can reduce the destructive force of a tsunami by up to 90%?
A density of 30 trees per 0.001 hectares can reduce the destructive force of a tsunami by up to 90%.
Coastal communities in the Sundarbans are said to be more resilient to natural disasters than where?
The coastal communities in the Sundarbans are said to be more resilient to natural disasters than other coastal communities elsewhere in Bangladesh.
What is the economic value of one hectare of mangrove forest?
One hectare of mangrove forest has an annual economic value of over $12,000.
Despite being poor, what could mangrove forests provide to Bangladesh?
Resilience against poverty and opportunities for sustainable economic development.
Give some examples of more recent human pressures.
Deforestation
Overfishing
Intensive agriculture
Settlement growth
What natural open access resources could the Sundarbans communities utilise?
Khas land
Wetlands and fisheries
Forests
What is khas land?
This is government owned land that is protected for use by local populations.
Why has there been significant investment of physical infrastructure in some areas of the Sundarbans?
This is because of the threat of natural disasters.
What physical infrastructure has been built?
Telecommunications Schools Hospitals Cyclone shelters Roads Flood protection Tube wells
Why do some communities in the Sundarbans have a greater economic safety net than other vulnerable communities in Bangladesh?
This is because of good levels of social capital from legal frameworks and services provided by both the government and NGOs as well as micro-credit.
What are the 5 categories of livelihood assets that help mitigate the challenges of the Sundarbans?
Financial Physical Natural Social Human
What are the financial livelihood assets?
Savings, credit, food/cash assistance.
What are the physical livelihood assets?
Houses, tube wells, latrines, electricity, livestock, tools, utilities.
What are the natural livelihood assets?
Land, water, common property resources.
What are the social livelihood assets?
NGOs, local networks
What are the human livelihood assets?
People, health, education, training.
Why is the level of resilience within the local population decreasing?
Due to poverty.
What is causing problems for coastal communities at the Sundarbans?
The shrinking of open access resources. Degradation of ecosystems. Corruption of both local and national political institutions. Conflicts over land ownership. Increasing deaths by tigers.
What can happen to female widows?
They can face very limited opportunities in this male dominated society and also because they marry before finishing formal education
What are the future challenges due to climate change?
Increased intensity and frequency of floods causing flood waters to stay for longer.
Water levels in rivers are increasing because of the permanent embankments of the shrimping industry which encourages the deposition of silt.
Rising temperature cause an increase in soil salinity.
Increased pesticide and fertiliser usage affects water quality.
Changes to seasonal rainfall patterns.
What are the adaptations for climate change challenges?
Education programmes to encourage farmers to use more ecologically-friendly methods.
Education and training for natural disasters by NGOs.
USAID is training people to deal with the shocks of climate change, so far 30,000 people have received training on improving agricultural techniques.
Relaunch of the policy to build cyclone shelters equipped with communication equipment and megaphones which also serve as primary school facilities- many were built in the 1970s but have been neglected.
New salt-tolerant rice varieties which can be submerged in water for up to two weeks.
NGOs build latrines on high ground and educate locals on sanitation and water-borne disease.
Storage tanks for rainwater in areas at most risk from inundation by salt water.
Distribution of water-tight containers to store important belongings and papers during floods.
What is there the opportunity for?
There is an opportunity for eco-tourism in the mangrove forest and wetland areas.
What type of designations are already in place for the region?
Both national and international.
