Sunderbans

 SUNDERBAN TIGER RESERVE: My Tour Memoir

DATE: 27^th Feb, 2010. (2:15pm)/excerpt from my Tour Diary

As IFS Probationers at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) we had a wonderful opportunity to visit Sunderbans in February, 2010. In this I would like to share with you few pages from my tour diary. I am sure that you will definitely enjoy reading it as I take you through breathtaking remnants of nature. It’s simply inexplicable for me to put it in words every moment that I derived from the mysterious beauty of Sunderbans during my visit.  As I passed through mosaic of mangrove covered islands carved intricately by small rivers and creeks, mutely feeling the calm eve breeze passing from leaves to leaves of enchanting Sundari, soothing and retiring her from the day.

Sunderban Tiger Reserve which is known World over for its largest mangrove forest and the only Mangrove-Tiger habitat on earth. Sunderbans is a mosaic of mangrove- covered islands intricately carved out by rivers and creeks. It was established as one of the pioneer Project Tiger Reserves in 1973 and is well protected by forest department despite of increasing pressures. The mangrove-covered islands offer rich mixture of floral and faunal diversity. Over the years it has become an important tourist’s destination due its fascinating landscape and rich biodiversity.

It is spread over an area of 2585 km² and was declared as “World Heritage Site” in 1987. The forest department has already put up proposal to be declared as Ramsar Site. Its name Sunderban is derives from a beautiful elegant trees growing in its forest which is known as “Sundari”(Heritieria sp) in the region. Major parts of islands are dominated by Sundari and grasslands. About 60% of Sunderban Islands is with Bangladesh and about 40% is with India. The water particularly in the Indian region is highly saline. Its high salinity is attributed to slight tilt of the tectonic plate towards India which brings saline water during high tide. Its unique mangrove vegetation is also decorated by a very rich distribution of both resident and migratory birds.

Sunderban is a mosaic of mangrove-covered islands. The mangrove vegetation can be divided into different zones such as proximal, tidal and distal zones. Each zone is represented by different mangrove species. The mangrove has very well adapted to the prevailing conditions such as high salinity and sandy soils. Their specialized adaptation includes viviparous germination, presence of pnuematophores and thick waxy leaves to reduce water loss through transpiration. …………to be continued………………………..