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Sundarbans
The Sundarbans is a vast forest on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, one of the natural wonders of the world. Located in the delta area of the Ganges, Meghna and Brahmaputra river basins, this magnificent forest covers Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Patuakhali and Barguna districts of Bangladesh and two districts of the Indian state of West Bengal in North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. As the largest mangrove forest in the coastal saline environment, the Sundarbans is the largest intact forest in the world. The 10,000 sq km of the Sundarbans covers 6,016 sq km in Bangladesh and the rest in India.
The Sundarbans was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on December 6, 1997. Although Bangladesh and India are in fact adjacent parts of the same uninterrupted territory, they have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under different names; Named 'Sundarbans' and 'Sundarbans National Park' respectively. The Sundarbans is entangled like a net with small archipelagos with marine currents, mud chars and salinity of mangrove forests. 31.1 per cent of the total forest area, i.e. 1,84 sq km, is covered by rivers, creeks and beels. Apart from the famous Royal Bengal Tiger, the forest is also known as the habitat of many species of animals including birds, chitra deer, crocodiles and snakes. According to the survey, there are 108 tigers and 100,000 to 150,000 Chitra deer in the Sundarbans now. On 21 May 1992, the Sundarbans was recognized as a Ramsar site. Thousands of tourists visit the Sundarbans every year. Every year, innumerable tourists from home and abroad are fascinated by the beauty of the Sundarbans and acquire various knowledge from nature by visiting the Sundarbans.
Naming[edit | edit source]
In Bengal, Sundarbans literally means beautiful jungle or beautiful forest land. The Sundarbans may have been named after the Sundari tree, which grows abundantly there. Other possible explanations may be that it may have been named after "sea forest" or "moon-dam" (ancient aboriginal). However, it is generally assumed that the Sundarbans is named after the Sundari tree.