Video | Sunderbans: the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest in the world – West Bengal

Music has an important role in the lives of the Adivasis of the Sundarbans. Groups such as the Santal, Munda, Oraon and Ho were brought to this region by the British in the 19th century. As indentured labourers, they cleared the forests and barricaded the rivers. Their descendants now speak Bengali after decades of living in West Bengal. | Learn more: “Songs of the Sundarbans” by Urvashi Sarkar & Sharmila Joshi: https://ruralindiaonline.org/article/songs-of-the-sundarbans

Sunderbans in West Bengal is the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest in the world and is a World Heritage Site

The mangrove forest is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mud flats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangroves. The area is better known as the home of the Royal Bengal tiger.

But the mangrove is facing threat now due to neglect. “At least 15 per cent of the Sunderbans will be submerged by 2020 and neglecting the area further can have global implications as it is highly vulnerable to climate change,” warns a UNDP […]

Prepared by the District Human Development Report (DHDR) of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts in partnership with the West Bengal government’s development and planning department and the Planning Commission, the report says the Sunderbans region was the worst performing in terms of human development indicators among all the other regions of the district. […]

Source: “The clock ticks for the Sunderbans and the Royal Bengal tiger” by Prasanta Paul, Deccanherald.com 7 July 2011
Address : https://www.deccanherald.com/content/101469/clock-ticks-sunderbans-royal-bengal.html
Date visited: 11 December 2020

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Tip: learn more about the importance of mangrove forests >>

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