RESEARCH ARTICLE

Mangrove wetland ecosystems in Ganges-Brahmaputra delta inBangladesh

Shafi Noor ISLAM (*), Albrecht GNAUCK

Department of Ecosystems and Environmental Informatics, Brandenburg University of Technology at Cottbus,

P.O. Box 101344, D-03013 Cottbus, Germany

E Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag 2008

Abstract The Sundarbans is one of the productive man-

grove wetland ecosystems in the Ganges-Brahmaputra

delta in Bangladesh. The delta is undergoing rapid eco-

logical changes due to human activity. In the present

study, surface water salinity data from 13 rivers of the

Sundarbans were collected in order to investigate the sal-

ine water intrusion in the mangrove wetlands. Results

demonstrate that saline water has penetrated the

upstream area as river water salinity has increased signifi-

cantly in 1976 compared to the year 1968. The soil and

river water salinity data also shows that it has crossed the

water salinity threshold line in most parts of the

Sundarbans wetlands. These observations are due to the

construction of Farakka Barrage in 1975, which reduced

the water discharge of the Ganges River from 3700 m3/s in

1962 to 364 m3/s in 2006. The shortage of freshwater dis-

charge to the deltaic area is trailing active ecosystems

function, especially in the dry season in the south western

region in Bangladesh. The objective of this study is to

understand and analyze the present degraded mangrove

wetland ecosystems and their negative impacts. The find-

ings of this study would contribute to the formulation of

the mangrove wetland ecosystems management plan in

the Ganges delta of Bangladesh.

Keywords freshwater discharge, salinity intrusion, con-

struction of Farakka Barrage

1 Introduction

The Ganges delta is the largest delta and occupies the

lower part of the Bengal Basin of the South Asian

region of Bengal. The delta has come into existence

by the depositional activities of the three mighty rivers

of the region: the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the

Meghna. The alluvial land has been developed at the

southern portion of the Bengal Basin by the combined

depositional activities of the Ganges, its various dis-

tributaries and other large and small streams of the

region. The Ganges delta is situated just above the

Bay of Bengal with its major portion occupied by

Bangladesh. The delta is about 360 km wide along

the Bay of Bengal. The river courses in the delta are

broad and active, carrying large amounts of water. This

delta is a tract of vast alluvial flat roughly resembling

the Greek letter ‘D’ (Delta) and commences at the off-

take of the Bhagirathi near Gaur of Malda district in

West Bengal, India (Rob, 1998). The delta of the

Ganges covers a total area of 80000 km2 in

Bangladesh and West Bengal of India (Bagchi, 1944;

Coleman, 1974; Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). It com-

prises part of the districts of Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna,

Rajshahi, Pabna and Dhaka of Bangladesh and a

major portion of West Bengal. As the silts are brought

in by normal flow and flooding of the rivers annually,

the Ganges delta is a growing delta. The temperature is

9.3u to 40u; annual precipitation range is 1474 mm to

2265 mm. The dry months have an average rainfall

between 20 mm to 60 mm and the average evapotran-

spiration rate is 15 mm to 90 mm/month. It is com-

posed of a labyrinth of waterways, swamps, lakes and

alluvial deposits occupying the great Bengal delta plane

woven with numerous small and large rivers (Islam,

2006). The Ganges delta is the site of the largest man-

grove forest in the world known as ‘the Sundarbans’.

The Sundarbans is the legendary sanctuary for the

famous Royal Bengal Tiger. It is the world’s largest

delta being the most fertile and vegetated alluvial land.

It is also called the Green delta which is also a nick

name for Bangladesh. The Ganges delta is also called

the Ganges -Brahmaputra River Delta (Islam, 2006).

The landscapes of the deltaic region encompass strong

aesthetic, cultural, biological and geological values (Zube,

1986). At present, landscapes and wetlands are the most

Received September 12, 2007; accepted April 3, 2008

E-mail: shafinoor@yahoo.com

Front. Earth Sci. China 2008, 2(4): 439–448DOI 10.1007/s11707-008-0049-2

spectacular global issues for economic growth and bal-

ance ecosystems. On the other hand, water is a fun-

damental issue for human survival and their cultural

development. There is an inter-linkage between cultural

landscape development and water availability. Almost

half of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed in the

past 100 years (Barbier, 1993). The total area of wet-

lands in Bangladesh has been variously estimated as

between 7 and 8 million ha which is almost 50% of

the total land surface. These include rivers, estuaries,

mangrove swamps, marsh (haors), baor (fresh water

oxbow lake) and bils, water storage reservoirs, fish

ponds and some other lands which are seasonally inun-

dated to a depth of 30 cm or more. In Bangladesh, 45%of mangrove wetlands have already been destroyed due

to shrimp farming and anthropogenic influences (Khan

et al., 1994). The area of The Ganges-Brahmaputra-

Meghna (GBM) drainage basin is 1.76 million km2 of

which 62% can be found in India, 18% in China, 7% in

Nepal and 8% in Bangladesh and only 4% in Bhutan

(Elahi et al., 1998). The Sundarbans, situated in the

Ganges delta, consists of an area of around 6017 km2

of which 1400 km2 of its southern part has been

declared as a natural world heritage site by UNESCO

in 1997 (Islam, 2003). The livelihood and ecology of the

Ganges delta of Bangladesh portion depends on the

Ganges fresh water supply (Hasna, 1995).

Approximately 600 000 people are employed seasonally

(UN ESCAP, 1988). The Gorai-Madhumati basin

(Figs. 1 and 2(a)) is directly affected by withdrawal of

water from the Ganges basin. The goal of this research

is the contribution of a comprehensive management

plan for the sustainable conservation and protection

of the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystems in the

Ganges delta.

2 Objectives

The objectives of this paper are to understand the natureof mangrove wetlands ecosystems in the Ganges delta and

how it is being changed to cause threats, and to formulate

a long-term management plan for mangrove wetlands

resources through the supply of Ganges water into

Sundarbans. GIS application would be a proper tool for

making decisions and formulating recommendations for

the protection of Sundarbans ecosystems.

3 Geographical location

Most parts of the Bengal Basin and Ganges delta are

floored with Quaternary sediments eroded from the high-lands on three sides and deposited by the Ganges,

Brahmaputra and theMeghna Rivers and their tributaries

and distributaries. The Ganges River originated in

Gangotri glacier in the southern slopes of the Himalayas

and carries discharge from a catchment of about

865000 km2 in India, to Bangladesh (Fig. 1) (Joseph,

2006). The location of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is

at latitude of 24u409 N and 88u E longitude. The longit-udinal extension of the delta is from 88u E to 91u509 Elongitude (Rob, 1998) (Figs. 2(a) and (b)).

The Sundarbans stretches over 10000 km2 and is

located at the southwest extremity of Bangladesh and

the southeast of the state of West Bengal in India. The

Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans is spread over the

districts of Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira and the forestcovers about 6017 km2 (Hussain et al., 1994; Hassan et al,

2001). Almost 62% of the land area lies between latitudes

21u319 N and 22u309 N and between Longitudes 89u189 Eand 90u19 E (Katebi, 2001).

Fig. 1 The Ganges delta and the Sundarbans location the GBM River catchment

440 Shafi Noor ISLAM, Albrecht GNAUCK

4 The Ganges delta and the mangrovewetlands

The development of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is still

continuing since it began some 125 million years ago

(Ma), after the fragmentation of the Gondwanaland since

the early Cretaceous. TheGanges deltaic plains are largely

drained by innumerable distributaries of the Ganges. It

has such a gentle slope that ranges from 15 m in the north

to nearly one meter in the south; and the interfluves have

such a slight relief, the gradient of the delta surface is

about 0.016 m/km, the rivers criss-cross each other and

have developed a complex river system. The topographic

features are similar to those of the flood plains except that

the relief is more subdivided. The average elevation of the

delta in Khulna, Barisal, the Southern part of Faridpur

and the eastern part of Noakhali district is less than 2 m.

The river courses in the delta are carrying water discharge,

29 692 m3/s in average into the Bay of Bengal. The dis-

charge is 80 684 m3/s during the flood and 6041 m3/s dur-

ing the low water season. The suspended sediment load

during the monsoon flood reaches as high as 13 million

Fig. 2 (a) The limit and the location of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta

Mangrove wetland ecosystems in Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh 441

tons per day. The Ganges Brahmaputra Delta can be

divided into four major categories: i) Moribund delta, ii)

Mature delta and iii) Active delta and iv) Tidally active

delta (Fig. 2(a)).

i) The moribund delta: The western part of the deltaic

plain, bound on the east by Gorai-Madhumati Rivers,

comprises the areas which extend from the northern

boundary of the Khulna district to Jessore and part of

Kushtia district. The area of moribund delta covers an

area of about 18000 km2. The rivers of the moribund delta

cannot bring down enough water and silt, even in flood

and, being confined within high levees, are not in a posi-

tion to inundate the entire area.

ii) The mature delta: The mature delta covers an area of

about 31500 km2 in Bangladesh and in West Bengal of

India. On average, it includes Murshidabad (West

Bengal, India), Nadia and 24-Parganas of India and

Meherpur, Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenaidaha, Magura,

Fig. 2(b) The limit of the Ganges delta and location of wetlands

442 Shafi Noor ISLAM, Albrecht GNAUCK

Jessore, Narial, Khulna, Sathkhira and Bagerhat districts

of Bangladesh.

iii) The active delta: The eastern active delta covers an

area of about 16500 km2. This part of the Ganges-

Brahmaputra delta is about 300 km long in the north-

south direction and about 100 km and 130 km wide in

the upper and middle reaches, respectively. The eastern

active Ganges-Brahmaputra delta includes Rajbari,

Faridpur, Shariatpur, and Madaripur, Gopalgonj,

Lakshmipur, Pirojpur, Barisal, Jhalokati, Patuakhali,

Barguna and Bhola districts of the country.

iv) The tidally active delta: The southwestern part of the

Ganges delta is coastal area and a tidally active delta. It is

dominated by coastal tidal currents. The tidally active delta

actually is the southern part of the Sundarbans region. It

covers an area of about 13500 km2. The Tidally active delta

includes the southern part of Bagerhat, Khulna, Sathkhira

district of Bangladesh and south 24 Pargona district of

West Bengal in India (Islam, 2006).

The surface water flow in the rivers of the

Sundarbans area mainly comes from the Ganges at

the off-take of Gorai-Madhumati and from the lower

Meghna through Swarupkati Kocha River (Figs. 2(a)

and 3). Salinity content of rivers in the Sundarbans

shows a special variability. The water salinity pattern

shows both seasonal and spatial variation. During pre-

monsoon (March–April), the conductivity of river

water is high and ranges from 7 mS/cm to 52 mS/cm.

In the post monsoon season (Aug-Sept), the conduc-

tivity of river water decreases (0–21.5 mS/cm). Water

salinity level in the rivers of the eastern region both

in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season is low (0–

7 mS/cm) in comparison to western rivers.

5 Data and Methodology

The present study was conducted based on primary and

secondary data sources. The saline water and soil samples

were collected and tested at the laboratory for investiga-

tion of water salinity intrusion trends. The survey covers

Munchiganj, Mirgang, Koira, Kasiabad, Mongla,

Kathka, Kochikhali, Hironpoint, Malancha-Mundar-

baria, and Burigoalini (Fig. 3). Primary data on surface

water salinity was obtained from 13 rivers including Sibsa

River, Passur River, Chunnar River, Kholpetua River,

Bal Jhalia River, Baleswar River, Betmargang River,

Notabaki River, Passakhali River, Arpongasia River,

Kathka River, Nilkamol River, and Malancha River

(Fig. 4) of the Sundarbans by the Institute of Water

Modelling (IWM). The survey was done in different eco-

logically sensitive areas between February-July in 2003.

Fig. 3 Three ecological zones in the Sundarbans region

Mangrove wetland ecosystems in Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh 443

The data was processed and analyzed through MS Excel,

GISArcView 9.1 for data visualization and MATLAB

software version 7.1 were used for simulation.

6 Results and discussion

To understand the real situation in the Sundarbans

region, 13 important rivers (Fig. 5) located around

the case area have been chosen for modelling of their

water salinity. The time series data of water salinity has

been collected from 13 river basins (Fig. 5) in the

Sundarbans mangrove wetlands area based on the

potentiality of the river basins and ecosystems balance.

All 13 rivers show increasing water salinity. The results

of the investigation of water salinity show that the

salinity rate is much higher in the southern and

south-western rivers; the rivers of the middle area are

moderate level and the rivers of the northern portioncarries low salinity than the rivers of middle area of the

Sundarbans (Figs. 4 and 5).

The river water salinity trends show that only one river

has crossed the threshold line (43220 dS/m) (Colugh,

1985) in 2000; six rivers have crossed the threshold line

in 2001; eight rivers have crossed the threshold line in

2002; and eleven rivers have crossed the threshold line in

2003 (Fig. 4). Therefore, the results show that the river

water salinity trends are gradually increasing and more

rivers are affected by NaCl in the Sundarbans in

Bangladesh.

The high salinity zone is located in the south-western

corner of the Sundarbans, where the previous salinity

values were 38 898 dS/m to 54025 dS/m, whereas the pre-

sent values are 54025 dS/m to 69152 dS/m. The high sal-

ine affected area extends from south to north and east to

west direction, which is poses an extremely high threat for

mangrove wetland ecosystems in the Sundarbans. The

results of water salinity simulation of the Sundarbans

Rivers will support the formulation of a plan by decision

makers to protect the special natural heritage site and

mangrove wetlands ecosystems in the Sundarbans region

in Bangladesh (Fig. 4).

6.1 Water allocation in the Ganges basin

The Ganges River rises at an elevation of 7667 meters in

Gangotri glacier of Kashi district of India on the south-

ern slopes of the Himalayan range. The length of the

river in Bangladesh is about 2550 km and covers an area

of about 46300 km2. It stretches for more than 1600 km2

between Tibet in China and India. The three major trib-

utaries, Gandok, Ghagra and Kosi pass through the

Fig. 4 The increasing salinity trends in the Sundarbans

444 Shafi Noor ISLAM, Albrecht GNAUCK

territory of Nepal. The Yamuna joins the Ganges below

Alahabad after receiving the Chambal, Hindon, Sindh,

Betwa and Ken. The Ganges enters Bangladesh about

17 km down the Farakka Dam. The Gorai is the main

tributary of the Ganges which enters the Sundarbans

and supplies upstream fresh water and joins Baleswar

River (Figs. 3 and 5) downstream. The confluence

receives the Meghna a few kilometers downstream

before it merges into the Bay of Bengal (Begum, 1987).

The construction of the Barrage is 2455 m long and is

designed for maximum discharge of 75630 m3/s. In 1972

the Government of Bangladesh took up the Ganges

issue in earnest to the Government of India. The same

year the Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission

(JRC) was constituted in 1972. After a collaborative

discussion at the summit in 1974, it was agreed between

Bangladesh and India that Farakka Barrage would not

be in operation before an agreement was reached on

sharing the dry season flow of the Ganges between the

two countries (Miah, 2003).

6.2 Reduced Ganges water and increased salinity

Bangladesh receives low quantity of water discharge after

the construction of the Farakka Barrage on the Ganges

River in India due to water withdrawal at Farakka

Barrage point downstream for irrigation purposes in the

lean season. There was a comparison of salinity intrusion

in 1967–1968 with the situation which occurred during

1976 and 1977 because the unimpaired dry season flows

of these years were comparable. The water salinityapproximations before and after 1975 in the Sundarbans

region are shown in Fig. 6, which shows the water salinity

approximations before and after 1975 in the Sundarbans

region. A comparative survey analysis was done in 2003

based on data of 1968, 1970 and 1976. The result shows

that, the river water salinity has increased significantly in

1976 compared to that in 1968 (Fig. 6).

The amount of the Ganges river water flow inBangladesh is influenced by the effect of the amount of

water drawn at the Farakka Barrage by India. The

Fig. 5 Water salinity isohaline in the Sundarbans region (Base Map: Islam, 2006)

Mangrove wetland ecosystems in Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh 445

Ganges flow was 3700 m3/s in 1962 whereas it was reduced

to 364 m3/s in 2006 (Nishat, 2006) (Fig. 7). As a result, the

high saline sea water has penetrated in the upstream, and

falling water tables occurred. Fig. 7 shows a strong cor-

relation between Ganges water discharge reduction and

salinity intrusion. The reduced water flow line and

increased salinity line has crossed at a certain point in

1975 (optimum point).

At this cross point the Ganges water flow was almost

1500 m3/s. This water level line can be introduced as the

optimal line where both lines crossed at the particular

point and this point can be called as the optimum point

of salinity intrusion. The isohaline salinity map (Fig. 5)

shows the real scenario of salinity intrusion in the

Sundarbans.

To compare the increasing salinity trends of three eco-

logical zones, the present situation is much more harmful

than that of 30 years before. Considering the value of water

salinity, the eastern zone still has a suitable condition for

mangrove ecosystems; the middle area is rapidly turning

from middle saline zone to high saline zone; and the south-

western region which carries the highest rate of water salin-

ity would be more harmful for sensitive mangroves plants

and animals in the Sundarbans (Fig. 4).

6.3 Increased salinity and degraded ecosystems in the

Sundarbans

The reduction of Ganges fresh water in the upstream area is

the main reason for salinity intrusion in the southwestern

Fig. 7 Ganges water flow decreased and salinity increased at Passur-Mongla point

Fig. 6 Water salinity after and before Farakka barrage construction in 1975 in India

446 Shafi Noor ISLAM, Albrecht GNAUCK

part of Bangladesh. Therefore, the increased salinity and

alkalinity has damaged vegetation, agricultural cropping

pattern and changed the cultural landscapes in the

Sundarbans region. The impact on soil starts with the

destruction of surface organic matter and soil fertility for

mangrove plants production. The changes altered basic soilcharacteristics related to aeration, temperature, moisture

and the organisms that live in the soil. The core elements

of the ecosystem such as soil, water, vegetation and wildlife

are strongly affected due to fresh water shortage and human

activity. The results of the study of EGIS (Environmental

Geographical Information Studies) shows that water qual-

ity has degraded during the dry season (February-June) in

the Sundarbans rivers where 60% water is in poor qualitywith EC dS/m being 5532.16 and 40% is in good quality

with EC dS/m being 2766.08 (EGIS, 2000).

6.4 Loss of biodiversity and threats for coastal food

security

The scarcity of the Ganges flow is a challenge for coastal

food security, mangrove wetland ecosystems protection,and further improvement of coastal saline environment.

The research finding has asserted that India’s diversion of

water had resulted in a loss of rice output of 236000 metric

tons in 1976. Deforestation of mangroves due to shrimp

farming, salt farming and agriculture adversely affects mar-

ine fish production and leads to a loss of biodiversity and of

livelihood to over 6 million people who depended on man-

groves (Anon, 1995). A number of species like Javan rhi-noceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), water buffalo (Bubalus

bubalis), swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli), Guar (Bos gaurus),

hog deer (Axix porcinus) and marsh crocodile (Crocodiles

palustric) became extinct during the last 100 years in the

Sundarbans. Oil spill is another potential threat and could

cause immense damage, especially to aquatic fauna and

seabirds and probably also to the mangrove forest biodi-

versity (Blower, 1985). The yearly natural calamity, globalwarming and its impacts are new challenging threats for

coastal food security and biodiversity (Husain, 1995).

6.5 Top dying diseases

With the commissioning of the Farakka Barrage, the dis-

charge in the downstream was drastically reduced. As a

result, all the elements of ecosystems development on theavailability of water were affected. The siltation in the

Sundarbans has increased and sediment trapping has been

aided by pneumatophores and dense roots of mangroves.

The dominant species of sundari (Heritiera fomes) and

Goran (Cariops decandra) are affected by top-dying dis-

ease. Almost 265 km2 areas of Heritiera type forest are

moderately affected and 210 km2 areas are severely affec-

ted, which is one of the main threats for a sustainablemangrove wetland management and the protection of its

ecosystems.

7 Conclusions

The Sundarbans mangrove wetlands, Chandabill-Baghiar

bill, Bildakatia, Atadanga Baor (Fresh water oxbow lake),

and Marijat Baor (Fig. 2(b)) are situated in the Ganges

delta. The Ganges fresh water plays an important role in

protecting these wetlands and its ecosystems in the delta.

Considering the increasing salinity trends in the region,

the threshold values of water salinity for the Sundarbans

case has been analyzed. In this study, 13 potential river

basins were investigated and it has been asserted that 11

rivers have crossed the water salinity threshold line

(43220 dS/m) in 2003. The previous average water salinity

value was 54025 dS/m, whereas the present highest water

salinity value is 69152 dS/m which is harmful and poses

threats to mangrove wetland ecosystems. The saline affec-

ted areas extend from south to north and east to west

direction and the iso-haline map is gradually changing

because of increasing salinity trends (Figs. 4 and 5). The

Ganges water availability in the basin and water salinity

trends of the downstream show the cyclic increasing beha-

vior in the Sundarbans Rivers. It clearly indicates and

forecasts the message that the upstream freshwater supply

is necessary for the protection of the mangrove wetland

ecosystems in the Sundarbans region. It has been indi-

cated that there is a strong relationship between fresh-

water supply and the quality of water in the Sundarbans

and water quality and ecosystems management are more

closely related. The Ganges water flow line and salinity

increasing line crossed at a certain point (Fig. 7), which is

recognized as optimal point and optimal line. In conclu-

sion, it can be said that if the water level does not cross the

optimal line then there will be no problem for the man-

grove ecosystems. This is why the Ganges freshwater sup-

ply in the Ganges delta in Bangladesh is necessary for the

protection of coastal resources and mangrove wetland

ecosystems. The findings of this study would be a poten-

tial contribution in formulating a comprehensive inter-

disciplinary management plan for the long-term

conservation and protection of mangrove wetland ecosys-

tems in the Sundarbans region in the Ganges Delta in

Bangladesh.

Acknowlegements The authors would like to thank different personsmet at Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project and theDepartment of Environment and Forest, Bangladesh. The financial sup-port for this study was partly provided by APNMega Delta Project. Weacknowledge APN Mega Delta Project and give special thanks to Dr.Zhongyuan Chen of APN Mega Delta Project Leader and Professor ofEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.

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