Sundarbans, The largest single block
of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world, located in the
southern part of Bangladesh. It lies on the
Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta at the point where it merges with the bay of bengal.
The forest lies a little south to the Tropic of Cancer between the
latitudes 21º30´N and 22º30´N, and longitudes 89º00´E and 89º55´E. With
its array of trees and wildlife
the forest is a showpiece of natural history. It is also a centre of
economic activities, such as extraction of timber, fishing and
collection of honey. The forest consists of about 200 islands, separated by about 400 interconnected tidal rivers, creeks and canals.
The
Sundarbans was originally measured (about 200 years ago) to be of about 16,700 sq km. Now it has dwindled to about 1/3 of the original size.
Because of the partition of India, Bangladesh received about 2/3 of the
forest; the rest is on the Indian side. It is now estimated to be about
4,110 sq km, of which about 1,700 sq km is occupied by waterbodies. The
forest lies under two forest divisions, and four administrative ranges
viz Chandpai, Sarankhola, Khulna and Burigoalini and has 16 forest
stations. It is further divided into 55 compartments and 9 blocks. The
Sundarbans was declared as a Reserve Forest in 1875. About 32,400
hectares of the Sundarbans have been declared as three wildlife
sanctuaries, and came under the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
These wildlife sanctuaries were established in 1977 under the Bangladesh
Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974. These are Sundarbans
West (9,069 ha), Sundarbans South (17,878 ha), and Sundarbans East
(5,439 ha).