A video on how residents of the Sundarbans are trying to protect coastal communities from extreme climate events
The Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, is regularly affected by intense monsoon storms.
With India facing more severe cyclones and extreme weather, the women of the Sundarbans have begun to protect their coastal communities.
They are planting thousands of trees to help buffer coastal communities from cyclones touring through the region.
Women first raise saplings in fresh water nurseries set up near their homes.
Read also: Protecting Sundarbans Wetlands
It takes about 45 days for the plants to become strong enough that they can be planted in nearby river beds for the next 15 to 20 days.
Once the plants get stronger, they are transplanted to the banks to form green embankments. This whole process takes about two to three months.
It takes about three to four years for a mangrove to grow into a tree.
This entire project is supported by a local non-profit organization and the Government of West Bengal.
It aims to plant about 10,000 mangroves to help restore damage caused by extreme climate events.
Read also: Cyclone-ravaged Sundarbans is now drowning in plastic
Mangroves protect beaches from erosion and extreme weather events.
They improve water quality by filtering out pollutants, and serve as nurseries for many marine organisms.
They can help fight climate change by storing millions of tons of carbon each year in their leaves, stems, roots and soil.
The total area of the Sundarbans is about 10,000 square kilometres, of which about three-fifths is in Bangladesh.
Mangrove forests cover about two-fifths of its total surface area, with water accounting for about half of that area.
The Sundarbans are home to a wide variety of animal species.
The Indian Sundarbans, which covers an area of 4,200 square kilometres, comprises a World Heritage Site, 2,585 square kilometer Sundarbans Tiger Reserve and a Ramsar site.
While the Tiger Reserve is home to around 96 Royal Bengal Tigers as per the last census in 2020, it is also Home to 428 species of birds,
Experts insist that all 54 inhabited islands of the Sundarbans Need for Disaster Risk Reduction Plan,
The Sundarbans are home to a population of 5 million people, who largely depend on fisheries and aquaculture.
Any change in its fragile ecosystem can cause destruction not only to the ecology but also to the livelihoods.
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