Though there are no official figures to depict the impact of climate change on Sunderbans, some experts believe that climate changing elements, like a rise in sea level, are some common threads linking the predator and prey on these mystic mangrove islands. And, recent findings by a group of scientists from Queen's University, Belfast, and Institute of Environment Studies & Wetland Management (IESWM) are set to give a new dimension to the climaterelated concerns in Sunderbans.
According to initial findings of their study - Sediment Pathways In the Sunderbans - the inhabited islands are more prone to inundation with any rise in sea level. “We have observed that some of the uninhabited islands are in some places a metre and a half higher than the inhabited islands and in case of the latter, the presence of embankments prevent sedimentation, making them more prone to inundation," said Prof Julian Orford, professor of physical geography and a coastal scientist with Queen's University, Belfast, UK.
He said uninhabited islands are dominated by creeks, through which tidal water flows and sediments are deposited. “But people in the inhabited islands cut off the sea channels to prevent flooding and make the top soil free from salinity for agriculture. But in the long run, you need new sediments deposited which can raise land faster than sea level rise, hence the islands may survive," added Prof. Orford.
The scientists have a possible solution, which might make the state face a mammoth task. “You have to depopulate some islands and open up the creeks. And you have to let some erosion in coastal and southern Sunderbans islands take place, as once these islands erode, you will get new sediments. The administration should halve the population density in middle and southern islands," Prof. Orford said, adding that the model, known as ‘Island Warping' or ‘Regeneration of Sedimentation', is being followed in the islands around Passur river in Bangladesh and around Wadden Sea in northern Germany.
Of the 102 Sunderbans islands, 54 are inhabited. The recent tiger census report by the Centre said Sunderbans is under intense pressure with around 3.5 million people living within 20 km of its northern and eastern borders. “Human population density is about 1437.4 persons per sqkm, making biodiversity conservation a challenge," it said. Read the full report here.
Source: Krishnendu Mukherjee, TNN, Kolkata.
