Sundarbans wildlife gets extended sanctuary
Sayeed Muhammad: Aiming to facilitate its smoother natural existence, the biodiversity boundary has been expanded in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, with experts hoping the move to help boost all types of forest resources including wildlife, fisheries, and trees.
The ‘sanctuary’ designated areas now add up to 317,950 hectares, over double the 139,699 hectares that was categorised as such over two decades back.
The development came as the government imposed a ban on collection of all types of wild resources from areas designated as ‘sanctuaries’ in the forest, reports UNB.
The Forest Department demarcated these sanctuary areas colouring the trees differently and blocking the entrance of fishermen, Bawals, and Mowals.
With a total area of 6,017 sqkm, the Sundarbans is the world’s largest coastal mangrove forest, straddling the border of India and Bangladesh.
Over half the Sundarbans’ total area falling within Bangladesh is now designated as sanctuary, which will go a long way towards the protection of wildlife in the mangrove forest, according to a new notification issued by the government after 21 long years.
In 1996, the government granted a 139,699-hectare area of the forest sanctuary status, covering 23% of the total area of the forest.
Through this notification, another 178,260 hectares have been added to the existing sanctuary aggregate, implying that over half the area of the Sundarbans has sanctuary status.
Of the additional 178,000-odd hectares under the sanctuary, 91,693 hectares has been added to the Sarankhola range; 38,339 hectares to the Khulna range and a total 48,216 hectares area to the Satkhira range.
The birth rate of wild animals ranging from the tiger to the deer and all the birds and fish will increase in the safe sanctuary, forest officials and experts hope.
Even the fishermen, Bawals and Mowals are confined to a mere 12,000 who are allowed to enter the forest for extracting resources under strict monitoring.