Sundarbans National Park
Country- {India}West Bengal
Biological Provience-4.03.01 (Bengalian Rainforest)
Geographical Location-Lies south-east of Calcutta in the 24-Paraganas District of West Bengal and forms part of the Gangetic Delta, which borders on the Bay of Bengal. Consists of Matla, Goashaba, Chhotahardi, Mayadwip, Chamta, Gona and Baghmara forest blocks, which are bounded by the Matla/Bidya and Haribhanga/Raimangal rivers to the east and west, respectively. The northern boundary is buffered by Netidhopani and Chandkhali forest blocks. 21°31'-21°53'N, 88°37'-89°09'E
Date and History of Establishment- Established as a national park on 4 May 1984 (Notification No. 2867-For). Previously created a wildlife sanctuary in 1977, having been designated as the core area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in December 1973. All forest in 24-Paraganas District was first notified as protected forest on 7 December 1878. Much of this was subsequently leased out by the government for purposes of cultivation, but the boundaries of the remaining protected forests were fixed under Notification No. 4457-For, dated 9 April 1926. Protected forests remaining in the Basirhat Division of the district were declared reserved forests on 9 August 1928 (Notification No. 15340) and those remaining in Namkhana Division on 29 May 1943 (Notification No. 7737-For). Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985.
Area- 133,010ha. Constitutes the core area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (258,500ha). Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary (36,234ha) lies within the buffer zone, to the north of Netidhopani and Chandkhali forest blocks. Halliday Island (583ha) and Lothian Island (3,885ha) wildlife sanctuaries are in the west of the Sundarbans but are not part of the tiger reserve. The wildlife sanctuaries of Sundarbans East (5,439ha), Sundarbans West (9,069ha) and Sundarbans South (17,878ha) lie to the east in Bangladesh but are not contiguous either with the tiger reserve or each other.
Land Tenure- Government
Altitude-Ranges from sea level to 10m at the most.
Physical Features-The Sundarbans, covering some 10,000 sq. km of mangrove forest and water (of which some 40% is in India and the rest in Bangladesh), is part of the world'slargest delta (80,000 sq. km) formed from sediments deposited by three great rivers, the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna, which converge on the Bengal Basin. The whole Sundarbans area is intersected by an intricate network of interconnecting waterways, of which the larger channels are often a mile or more in width and run in a north-south direction. These waterways, apart from the Baleswar River on the eastern edge of the Bangladesh Sundarbans, now carry little freshwater as they are mostly cut off from the Ganges, the outflow of which has shifted from the Hooghly-Bhagirathi channels progressively eastwards since the seventeenth century (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). This is due to subsidence of the Bengal Basin and a gradual eastward tilting of the overlying crust. In the Indian Sundarbans, the western portion receives some freshwater through the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system but that portion designated as the tiger reserve is essentially land-locked, its rivers having become almost completely cut off from the main freshwater sources over the last 600 years (Sanyal and Bal, 1986). Thus, waterways in the tiger reserve are maintained largely by the diurnal tidal flow, the average rise and fall being about 2.15m on the coast and up to 5.68m on Sagar Island (Lahiri, 1973). Tidal waves are a regular phenomenon and may be up to 75m high. The land is constantly being changed, moulded and shaped by the action of the tides, with erosion processes more prominent along estuaries and deposition processes along the banks of inner estuarine waterways influenced by the accelerated discharge of silt from seawater (Sanyal and Bal, 1986). About half of the Sundarbans is under water (Lahiri, 1973) and the rest of the landscape is characterised by low-lying alluvial islands and mudbanks, with sandy beaches and dunes along the coast. As with the rest of the Bengal Plain, alluvial deposits are geologically very recent and deep, sediment of just the last few million years being as much as 1,000m thick (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). The subsoil consists of alternate layers of clay and sand, gradually changing into shales and sandstone. The soil is clayey loam down to a depth of 1.1-1.4m and thereafter stiff black clay. It is alkaline due to an excess of sodium chloride (Lahiri, 1973). An estimation of land loss and accretion has been made using remote sensing techniques (Murthy Naidu and Madhavan Unni, 1986).
Climate- Rainfall is heavy and humidity high (80% on average) due to the proximity of the Bay of Bengal. The monsoon usually lasts from mid-June until mid-September, after which fair weather prevails until mid-March. The mean annual rainfall recorded at the observatory on the nearby Island of Sagar was 2002mm in 1937-1946, that for Jhingakhali Station in the northern part of the reserved forests was 1920mm in 1970-1972. Mean annual maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at the latter was 34°C and 20°C, respectively. Prevailing wind is from the north and north-east from October to mid-March, although January and February are calm. Violent south-westerlies prevail from mid-March to September. Storms are common in May and October-November, sometimes developing into cyclones which are usually accompanied by tidal waves and cause much loss of life and damage to property and the forests (Lahiri, 1973). Meteorological data for 1955-1960 are presented by Mukherjee (1975). There are meteorological stations at Haldi, Jhingakhali and Sajnakhali.
Vegetation- The entire mangrove forest extends over an area of 4,262 sq. km, of which 2,320 sq. km is forest and the rest is water (Mukherjee, 1975), and is called Sundarban owing to the dominance of the tree species Heritiera fomes, locally known as 'sundari' because of its elegance (Jain and Sastry, 1983). This marsh vegetation consists of elements of the Malayan Peninsular and Polynesian regions, together with some Indo-Chinese, Ethiopian and a few of theNew World. It is not found elsewhere except in a small part of the Mahanadi and Godaveri deltas to the south-west and the Bay Islands (Mukherjee, 1975). Prain (1903) lists 334 species found in the Sundarbans. Champion (1936) classified the Sundarbans as moist tropical seral forest, comprising beach forest and tidal forests. The latter are subdivided into four types, of which only low mangrove forest and salt-water Heritiera forests occur within Indian territory. Beach forest occurs on coastal islands comprising low sand-dunes which, together with lime formed from disintegrating shells and salt, give rise to a pronounced xerophytic habitat despite the high rainfall. Sand-dunes are partially covered with spear-grass, behind which are creepers and shrubs or trees, such as jhao Tamarix troupii, palita Erythrina variegata and kulsi Aegiceras corniculatus. Salt-water Heritiera forest (6-11m high), a low salinity vegetation type, occurs between the Raimangal and Matla rivers, where freshwater flows from the Ichhamati River into the Raimangal River. Characteristic species include garjan Rhizophora sp., kankra Bruguiera gymnorhiza, goran Ceriops sp., and baen Avicennia officinalis. Heritiera fomes is scattered over areas of higher elevation, along with keora Sonneratia apetala, gengwa Excoecaria agallocha, dhundul Carapa obovata and the date palm or hental Phoenix paludosa. The golpata palm Nipa fruticans is relatively uncommon but occurs on wet mud-banks along the creeks. Low mangrove forest (3-6m high) occurs between Matla and Muriganga, to the west of the national park and tiger reserve, this area being devoid of freshwater because its rivers are cut off from the ramifications of the Hooghly in the north. Soft mud, which is submerged by the tides, supports a dense forest, very similar in composition to salt-water Heritiera forest except that sundari and golpata are virtually absent. Goran and baen are the commonest trees, occupying extensive areas but only growing up to 2m. Clusters of hental are very common. Certain forest tracts on low-lying islands were cleared some two hundred years ago and gradually claimed for cultivation. Various trees and other plants were introduced, including some exotics (Mukherji, 1975; also see Lahiri, 1975; Jain and Sastry, 1983). In a more recent examination of the composition and structure of the mangrove vegetation, 69 plant species are identified (Calcutta University, 1987). This report also includes inventories of algae, phytoplankton and fungi.
Fauna- The Sundarbans is the only remaining habitat in the lower Bengal Basin for a great variety of faunal species. Some of this variety, however, has already been lost owing to the reclamation of the broad transitional belt of habitat for agriculture, combined with the higher salinity resulting partly from the large-scale irrigation schemes in the upper reaches of the Ganges. Species include the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus (E) and water buffalo Bubalus bubalis (V), last recorded in 1870 and 1885, respectively, swamp deer Cervus duvauceli (E), which existed in good numbers until early this century, and Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, last reported on Halliday Island in the late 1970s (Mukherjee, 1975; Sanyal, 1983). Similarly, gharial Gavialis gangeticus (E) and narrow-headed softshell turtle Chitra indica became locally extinct within the last century (Sanyal, n.d.). Mukherjee (1975) provides an extensive account of the vertebrate and invertebrate fauna. More recently, inventories have been compiled (Calcutta University, 1987; Sanyal, n.d.). The tiger Panthera tigris (E) population, estimated at 251 in 1993 (K. Rao pers. comm., 1995), is the largest in India. High population density, relative to the availability of prey, and the relatively high frequency of encounters with local people (within the tiger reserve) is probably largely responsible for the notorius man-eating habits of the Sundarbans tiger (also see Hendrichs, 1975; Chakrabarti, 1986a). The fishing cat Felis viverrinus (K) abounds (Sanyal,n.d.). The only ungulates are wild boar Sus scrofa, main prey species of the tiger, and spotted deer Cervus axis, which is plentiful and often seen in association with rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta. Aquatic mammals that frequent the tidal waters include the Ganges dolphin Platanista gangetica, Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin Sousa chinensis (K), Irrawaddy dolphin Orcaella brevirostris (K) and finless porpoise Neophocaena phocaenoides (K) (Mukherjee, 1975). The Sajnakhali area contains a wealth of water birds, noteworthy residents including Asian openbill stork Anastomus oscitans, black-necked stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus, greater adjutant Leptoptilos dubius (E), white ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, swamp francolin Francolinus gularis, white-collared kingfisher Halcyon chloris, black-capped kingfisher H. pileata and brown-winged kingfisher Pelargopsis amauroptera. This area is important for waders, including the Asian dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus (R), a rare winter migrant. Interesting marsh birds found in the reclaimed areas include egrets Egretta alba, E. garzetta and E. intermedia, purple heron Ardea purpurea (a rare vagrant from Africa) and green-backed heron Butorides striatus, while birds of prey include osprey Pandion haliaetus, Pallas's sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus (R), white-bellied sea-eagle H. leucogaster, grey-headed fishing eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus, Oriential hobby F. severus, northern eagle owl Bubo bubo and brown fish owl Ketupa zeylonensis. A variety of terns (Sterna and other genera) and kingfishers are seen on the large rivers and in flooded areas (Mukherjee, 1975). Other details of the avifauna are given by Law (1954, 1956). The Sundarbans provide important habitat for a variety of reptiles including river terrapin Batagur baska (E), olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea (E), estuarine crocodile Crocodylus porosus (E), monitor lizard Varanus flavescens, water monitor V. salvator and Indian python Python molurus (V) (Mukherjee, 1975). The only species of turtle known to nest in the Sundarbans is the olive ridley but hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata has been caught in fishermen's nets (Bhaskar, 1984). The creeks are spawning grounds for some 90 species of fish (Chakrabarti, 1987a), 48 species of crabs and a large variety of molluscs (see 1986 World Heritage nomination).
Cultural Heritage- Baghmara Forest Block contains the ruins of a city built by the Chaand Sandagar merchant community approximately 200-300 AD. Much later, during the Moghul Empire, Raja Basand Rai and his nephew took refuge in the Sundarbans from the advancing armies of Emperor Akbar. The buildings which they erected subsequently fell to Portuguese pirates, salt smugglers and dacoits in the 17th century. The ruins are evident at Netidhopani and elsewhere. The Sundarbans feature prominently in Bengali literature, for example Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's novel "Kapal Kundla". Banbibi, incarnation of the Goddess Durga, is the reigning deity in the area. Her blessings are sought for protection from the tiger (Rishi, 1988). Reclamation of the Sundarbans commenced in 1770 and is described by Bandyopadhyay (1985).