The Chief Minister of West Bengal has inquired about the 50 million mangrove plants that her previous government had planted in 2020 after Cyclone Amphan and which could not protect the Sundarbans from Cyclone Yaas.
Sundarbans is a vast contiguous mangrove forest ecosystem in the coastal region of the Bay of Bengal spread over India and Bangladesh on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers.
The Sundarbans is of universal importance for globally endangered species including the Royal Bengal Tiger, Ganges and Irawadi dolphins, estuarine crocodiles and the critically endangered endemic river terrapin (Batagur baska).
It is the only mangrove habitat in the world for Panthera tigris tigris species. It constitutes over 60% of the country’s total mangrove forest area.
The site is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes.
Indian Sundarbans was recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in January 2019 and also a Biosphere Reserve in 1989.
The area is known for its wide range of fauna, including 260 bird species and is home to many rare and globally threatened wildlife species such as the Estuarine Crocodile, Royal Bengal Tiger, Water Monitor Lizard, Gangetic Dolphin and Olive Ridley Turtles.
Mangroves are the plant communities occurring in intertidal zones along the coasts of tropical and subtropical countries. Mangrove swamps are characterized by saline conditions and abundant dissolved minerals in seawater.
Mangrove forests perform multiple ecological functions such as production of woody trees, provision of habitat, food and spawning grounds for fin-fish and shellfish, provision of habitat for birds and other valuable fauna; protection of coastlines and accretion of sediment to form new land.
Among the states and Union Territories, West Bengal has the highest percentage of area under total Mangrove cover followed by Gujarat and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
India witnessed the Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. Amphan is a super tropical cyclone that originated from the Bay of Bengal in May 2020.
It is considered the first super cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. It is a part of the North Indian Ocean Cyclone Season.
The Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha, and the country of Bangladesh were hit by Amphan as a ‘very severe cyclonic storm.’
The National Crisis Management Committee was in charge to review the preparedness for the impending cyclone Amphan.
