Climatic Vulnerability of the Sundarbans in

South Asia

Overview• The Sundarbans - one of the largest mangrove forest

in the world.• Lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and

Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.• Covers two countries – India and Bangladesh (more

than half of it in India, the rest in Bangladesh). • Status of reserved forests in both countries.• Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List - Natural

Site.• Sundarbans National Park (Indian side), inscribed on

UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1987• The Sundarbans (Bangladesh side), inscribed on UNESCO

World Heritage List, in 1997• Climatically vulnerable zones• Capturing the spectrum of climatic events – erosions,

submergence, cyclone• Differential effect of climatic events

• Sundarbans – Covering two countries in South Asia – India and Bangladesh

• Deltaic islands – slowly submerging due to global warming

Sundarbans National Park (Indian side), inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1987.

Scientific Findings on Climate Change in the Sundarbans• Sea level rise increase at 17.8 mm/year between 2000 and 2009• Increase in Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in Sundarbans for all

three seasons- pre-monsoon, monsoon and winters • Shift in the monsoon patterns• Higher disaster risk with more frequent and intense cyclones

and higher damages to infrastructure

Depleting Mangrove Forests

Climate Change impact on the Sundarbans- Decreasing population of royal Bengal tiger and other endangered wildlife- Reducing biodiversity- Climatic uncertainties lead to extinction of many flora and fauna

Climate Resilience • Long term plan and

implementation of use of renewable energy sources

• Participatory development of Environmental Management and Biodiversity Conservation Plan

• Participatory success story from the Sundarban's Tiger Project

• STEPS Centre Project “Climate Change and Uncertainty from Below and Above” to study how do people deal with uncertainty about climate, disease or natural disasters like floods?

• Explores how different people see climate-related challenges and resilience – residents of the Sundarbans, informal health workers & NGO workers

Visualization by Anup Kumar Das http://anupkumardas.blogspot.in