February 03, 2024

The world's largest mangrove is on the cusp of environmental catastrophe

topic:	Conservation
located:	India
editor:	Hanan Zaffar

The world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, is home to various plant and animal species and contains innumerable UNESCO Natural World Heritage sites. 

Stretching along the Bay of Bengal coast, the Sundarbans forest system is a cluster of low-lying islands housing endangered species. It is a natural barrier against cyclones, storm surges, and other environmental hazards. 

The low-lying islands have slowly succumbed to the relentless impact of violent annual storms, increasing sea levels, and melting ice from the Himalayan mountains.

Climate change and a shortage of fresh water from sources upstream have been among the most significant causes seriously affecting the delta. The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem in India is now classed "endangered" by a global team of researchers using the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Ecosystems framework. 

Researchers from India, Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom evaluated the Indian Sundarbans ecosystem using their developed framework. They concluded that ongoing threats such as "climate change" and "reduced freshwater supply" may further imperil this ecosystem after massive deforestation in the 1800s. 

Frequent and more severe cyclones with higher sea temperatures are the region's most significant cause of concern as they lead to rising sea levels, engulfing more land at every high tide. Once the tide recedes, the land is left more saline than before, causing decreasing freshwater and rendering the land infertile. 

Research shows the entire delta is sinking, which only adds to the effect of rising sea levels.

Sea level in the Asia-Pacific region could rise between 1.3–2 feet, and temperature could increase to 2.6–4.8 degrees by 2100, along with erratic rainfall and the incidence of extreme weather events.

These changes render the region, which straddles the Bangladesh-India border, increasingly uninhabitable for 13 million people – 8.5 million around the forests in Bangladesh and 4.5 million inside the forests in India.

With more than 20 per cent of India's population living within 50 kilometres (31 miles) of the sea, the country's 7,500-kilometre-long coastline is considered the world's most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. 

Sundarban inhabitants have faced climate-induced displacement for decades. The worst was Cyclone Aila in 2009, which since then has resulted in distress migration driven by economic vulnerability where poor men migrate to other Indian states in search of work, leaving their wives to battle the climate and livelihood crisis alone back at home.

Distress migration in the Sundarbans results in a higher prevalence of women-led households than in any other area in India. These households commonly exhibit debt burdens, numerous dependents, a lack of economic power, and limited livelihood options.

Experts say that addressing these issues has been sporadic and piecemeal. One significant action is to invest in the planned retreat of millions of people and bolster mangrove cover as a bio-shield against future cyclones and rising sea levels.

In December 2023, West Bengal's capital, Kolkata, became one of the first claimants for climate change-induced loss and damage from the UN's Loss and Damage Fund, established during the COP28 summit. The fund includes coverage for climate-displaced populations from the Sundarbans.

Viewing the escalating threats from climate change, India's National Disaster Management Authority drafted a policy in early 2023—referred to as the bedrock of India's climate change adaptation—encompassing coastal and river erosion.

This new policy aims to guide the mitigation and resettlement of those displaced by erosion, reduce land loss, enhance economic resilience, and minimise vulnerability.

Image by Timothy K.

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