The Sundarbans, Bangladesh Case Study

Question 1

The Sundurbans region of Bangladesh is home to …million people

Answer 1

3

Question 2

The Sundurbans extends across 2 countries which are… and…

Answer 2

India
Bangladesh

Question 3

The Sundurbans is a tropical estuarine environment which means…

Answer 3

It is located in the zone between the Equator and the Tropics and is in the transition zone where river (freshwater) and sea (saltwater) environments meet (the water is brackish)

Question 4

The Sundurbans is a Tropical environment which means that it’s located in the zone between the… and …

Answer 4

Equator
Tropics

Question 5

The Sundarbans is an estuarine environment which means that it is the transition zone between …and…environments so the water is a mixture of…and…(is brackish)

Answer 5

River
Sea
Freshwater
Saltwater

Question 6

The 3 major rivers that transport sediment to the delta region of the Sundarbans are the…, …. and…

Answer 6

Meghna, Ganges, Brahmaputra

Question 7

A delta is a…

Answer 7

Depositional landform created by the loading of sediment onto the land (when the river’s capacity to carry the sediment is reduced). It is a dynamic area that changes rapidly due to the recreaction of land/ erosion of unstable land during storm and flood events

Question 8

A char is a …

Answer 8

Floodplain island (flat areas of land that are prone to flooding) of deposited sediment that is prone to erosion and can often become fully submerged under the water

Question 9

Name for floodplain islands of deposited sediment that are prone to erosion and can often become fully submerged under water

Answer 9

Chars

Question 10

A khal is a …

Answer 10

Smaller river channel that interconnects with other small river channels to form an extensive network and drains the land when the tide goes out

Question 11

Name for smaller river channels that interconnect to form an extensive network and drain the land when the tide goes out

Answer 11

Khal

Question 12

Examples of economic value that the Sundarbans provides

Answer 12

Food- nutritious fruits, honey, used to catch fish
Construction materials e.g timber
Textiles e.g dyes, tannins, synthetic fibres, furs
Household items e.g wax and glue

Question 13

Examples of economic value that the Sundarbans provides

Answer 13

Food- nutritious fruits, honey, used to catch fish
Construction materials e.g timber
Textiles e.g dyes, tannins, synthetic fibres, furs
Household items e.g wax and glue

Question 14

Examples of inputs to the Sundarbans system

Answer 14

Energy from river velocity
Water from the Ganges, Meghna and Brahmatura rivers
Sediment from the Ganges, Meghna and Brahmaputra rivers
Sea water from the Bay of Bengal
South Westerly winds

Question 15

Examples of flows/ transfers in the Sundarbans system

Answer 15

Transportation of sediment by wind and water
Erosion of sediment by rivers, tides and storms
Deposition of sediment
Colonisation by salt-tolerant plants (succession)

Question 16

Outputs of the Sundurbans system

Answer 16

Sand dunes (store)
Silted channels (store)
Char islands (store)
Mangrove forest climatic climax
Flat low lying land made from deposited sediment
Network of wide channels and smaller khals

Question 17

Describe the process of delta formation

Answer 17

River carrying lots of sediment (e.g the Ganges, Meghna and Brahmaputra rivers) go into the sea (The Bay of Bengal)
As the river meets the sea it slows down and deposits the sediment and flocculation occurs where clay particles come together and sink (causing even more deposition)
This deposited sediment acts as a barrier to slow down the river even more leading to even more deposition
This bank of sediment causes the river to split up and flow around the sediment leading to the formation of lots of distributaries

Question 18

Examples of natural challenges that the Sundarbans faces

Answer 18

Coastal flooding (due to rising sea levels, the land being low lying and storm surges from cyclones)
Cyclones (due to the Sundarbans being located within the tropics, just north of the equator and cyclones cause flooding and storm surges)
High levels of salinity in the soil (caused by flooding as salt water contaminates soil)
Instability of the islands (due to being composed of unconsolidated and weak sediment)

Question 19

True or false, cyclones (and the associated storm surges and flooding that comes with it) are becoming more frequent with climate change

Answer 19

False
Cyclones aren’t becoming more frequent they’re just becoming more intense and severe when they happen

Question 20

Examples of human-induced challenges to the Sundarbans

Answer 20

Overexploiting resources from vulnerable habitats e.g fish and crabs and fuel wood from the mangrove trees
Converting wetlands to intensive agricultural settlements (which involves cutting down and clearing mangrove forests so there less protection against cyclones and more water pollution from fertilisers/ pesticides)
Destructive fishing techniques e.g prawn farming which involves destroying/ clearing mangrove forests and polluting the water and soil
Lack of awareness of the environmental and economic importance of the region (communities don’t intentionally damage the environment they just aren’t aware of the problems that their actions are creating)
Lack of awareness of coastal issues by decision makers e.g the Bangladesh government who threatened to destroy the Sundarbans by building coal-fired power plants

Question 21

Over exploitation of coastal resources from vulnerable habitats e.g fish, crabs and fuel wood is a human- induced challenge to the Sundarbans because…

Answer 21

Obtaining fuel wood involves cutting down mangrove trees which removes the vital protection they provide for communities against cyclones.
Overfishing (including crabs) leads to unbalanced ecosystems which harms biodiversity

Question 22

Conversion of wetlands to intensive agriculture and settlements is a human induced problem to the Sundarbans because…

Answer 22

It involves clearing and removing mangrove forests which takes away the natural protection they provide to communities against cyclones.
The fertilisers and pesticides used in the agriculture can also cause water pollution
Removing mangrove forest also reduces the habitat for certain species of fish and the endangered Bengal tiger

Question 23

Destructive fishing techniques e.g intensive prawn farming are a human induced challenge to the Sundarbans as…

Answer 23

Prawn farming involves clearing mangrove forests which reduces the habitat and protection provided against cyclones
Diseases can also be spread which contaminated water used for cooking and irrigation

Question 24

True or false, people in the Sundarbans are intentionally damaging their environment

Answer 24

False
They don’t have an awareness of the problems that might be created by their actions (aren’t intentionally damaging the environment)

Question 25

Examples of strategies currently being used to help mitigate against the challenges faced in teh Sundarbans

Answer 25

Government and NGO funding to provide cyclone shelters and early warning systems
Protection of mangrove forests
Replanting previously cleared areas of mangrove forests
3500km of embankment built to prevent flooding (although 800km of it is at risk of being breached by erosion)
Livelihood assets (including property, land, water, latrines, and electricity, education, good health, food, money savings, NGOs and local groups working in the area etc)