The Sundarban(The largest mangrove forest of the world) Part-1

The Sundarbans, natural mangrove forests of Bangladesh cover an area of 577,000 ha, of which 401,600 ha is land and remaining 175,400 ha are under the water in the forms of river, canals and creeks of width varying from a few meters to several kilometers. The interconnected network of waterways makes almost every corner of the forest accessible by boat. Unlike most mangrove forests, the members of the family Rhizophoracae do not dominate the tree vegetation of the Sundarbans. Heritiera fomes and Excoecaria agallocha are the two most extensively occurring tree species in the forest and they are members of Sterculiaceae and Euphorbiaceae respectively. The forest is very rich in biodiversity. The Sundarbans play an important role in the economy of the southwestern region of Bangladesh as well as in the national economy. It is the single largest source of forest produce in the country. The forest provides raw material for wood based industries. In addition to traditional forest produce like timber, fuelwood, pulpwood etc., large scale harvest of non wood forest products such as thatching materials, honey, bees-wax, fish, crustacean and mollusk resources of the forest takes place regularly. The vegetated tidal lands of the Sundarbans also function as an essential habitat, nutrient producer, water purifier, nutrient and sediment trap, storm barrier, shore stabilizer, energy storage unit and aesthetic attraction.

Beautiful Sundarbans

The Sundarbans is of unique scientific and biological interest and offers rare opportunities for ecotourism, biological research and conservation education. Some areas in the forest have been earmarked as protected in the form of wildlife sanctuary. No forestry operations are carried out in these areas, which support a rich concentration of wildlife as well as vegetation, which has not been disturbed for decades. The forest was recognized as an important resource base about five centuries ago and actual scientific management of the forest was initiated more than 120 years ago.
This is very significant because even today mangroves are not considered as a viable resource base in a number of countries of Asia, Africa and tropical Latin America. For its outstanding natural value the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO inscribed the Sundarbans of Bangladesh in the World Heritage list by their 21st session in 1997 and accordingly the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh declared the Sundarbans as World Heritage site in December 1997 (Nuruzzaman and others 1999). This paper describes the vast wilderness of the Sundarbans, its economic and social importance and the need for integrated management and research.

 HISTORY: Facts & Figures

•  Exploration of the Sundarban dates back to the 16th century and the present area is approximately half the size of the area of mangrove that existed 200 years ago.

• Declared as a Reserve Forest in 1875.

• In 1911, it was described as a tract of waste country and total 11, area (including water) was estimated at 6526 square miles.

• It was a water-logged jungle, in which tigers and other wild beasts abounded. Attempts at reclamation had not been very successful.

• In 1947, the Sundarban mangroves divided between India and Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan geo-political change.

• Bangladesh part-Sundarban, covers about 62% (6,017 km2) and Indian part-Sundarban National Park, covers about 38% of 1 million ha forest area.

• Three wildlife sanctuaries of Bangladesh Sundarban came under the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 which were established in 1977 under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation)(Amendment) Act, 1974.

• Presently the forest lies under two forest divisions and four administrative ranges and has 16 forest stations. It is further divided into 55 compartments and 9 blocks.

 Nomenclature:
The Sundarbans is named after the principal tree Sundri(Heritiera fomes) found in it. Another opinion is that it isderived from the words ‘Samunder Ban’ meaning sea forests.It may also derived from the word‘Sundar,’meaning beautiful,because the forest is beautiful to look at.

It is also called mangrove forest. According to M. Vannuci-
"Mangroves are unique because they are a gift of the tides along low-lying tropical and occasionally subtropical coastal areas, along the margins of estuaries, deltas, coastal lagoons, and brackish tidal waters in general. There are no mangroves where there are no tides"

সূর্যোদয় ও সূর্যাস্তের সময় সূর্য লাল দেখায় কেন ?

সূর্যাস্ত

                                                                   

সূর্যের আলো পৃথিবীর যে অংশে পড়ে সেখানে দিন হয় কিন্ত যতই দিন গড়ায় ততই সূর্যের রঙ বদলায় । সূর্যের এই রঙ বদলের সবচেয়ে সুন্দরতম সময় বুঝি সূর্যোদয় আর সূর্যাস্ত । সে সৌন্দর্য দেখতে কত পর্যটকইনা ভিড় করেন সমুদ্র পাড়ে । কিন্ত আমরাকি জানি কেন সূর্যোদয় ও সূর্যাস্তের সময় এমনটা হয় ? আসলে সূর্যের যে সাদা আলোটি আমরা দেখি সেটি মূলত সাতটি রঙের মিশ্রণ । এগোলু হল বেগুনি, নীল, আসমানী, সবুজ, হলুদ, কমলা এবং লাল । সংক্ষেপে বেনিআসহকলা । এই সাতটি রঙ এর মধ্যে বেগুনি আলোর তরঙ্গদৈর্ঘ্য সবচেয়ে কম আর লাল আলোর সবচেয়ে বেশি ।সূর্যোদয় ও সূর্যাস্তের সময় সূর্য দিগন্তের কাছাকাছি থাকে । দুপুরে সূর্য যখন আমাদের মাথার উপরে থাকে তখন সূর্যালোককে ধূলিকণা, পানিকণাপূর্ণ বায়ুমণ্ডলের মধ্য দিয়ে যতটা পথ অতিক্রম করতে হয় দিগন্ত রেখা দিয়ে এই সূর্যরশ্মিকে বায়ুমণ্ডলের পুরুস্তর ভেদ করতে হয় তার অনেক গুণ বেশি। তাই বায়ুমণ্ডলের ধূলিকণা, পানিকণায় ক্ষুদ্র তরঙ্গদৈর্ঘ্যবিশিষ্ট নীল ও এর কাছাকাছি বর্ণগুলোর বিক্ষেপণ বেশি হয় এবং এরা চারদিকে ছড়িয়ে পড়ে । কিন্ত লাল বর্ণের তরঙ্গ দৈর্ঘ্য বেশি হাওয়ায় তা সোজাসোজি পৃথিবীতে চলে আসে । আর তাইতো আমরা উপভোগ করতে পাড়ি সূর্যোদয় ও সূর্যাস্তের রক্তিম আভা ।