Public Disclosure Authorized Landscape Narrative of the Sundarban: Towards Collaborative Management by Bangladesh and India Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Document Information Title Landscape Narrative of the Sundarban: Towards Collaborative Management by Bangladesh and India Submitted to The World Bank Submitted by International Water Association (IWA) Contributors Bushra Nishat, AJM Zobaidur Rahman, Sakib Mahmud, etc Deliverable Sundarban Joint Landscape Narrative description Version number First Draft Dissemination Members of the BISRCI Consortia level Reference to be used for citation Cover picture Fishermens in a river in Sundarban by AJM Zobaidur Rahman Contact Bushra Nishat, Programmes Manager South Asia, International Water Association. [email protected] Prepared for the project Bangladesh-India Sundarban Region Cooperation Initiative (BISRCI) supported by the World Bank under the South Asia Water Initiative: Sundarban Focus Area 1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction and context ...................................................................................................................... 6 1.1. The Sundarban Region ................................................................................................................ 11 1.2. Need for Collaboration .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.3. About the Narrative .................................................................................................................... 16 2. A brief history of the Sundarban ......................................................................................................... 21 2.1 The mystic Sundarban ................................................................................................................. 21 2.2 Early history and first inhabitants ............................................................................................... 26 2.1. Conservation steps – pre 1947 ....................................................................................................... 28 2.3 Conservation - Post 1947 ............................................................................................................ 30 2.3.1 Conservation in Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, India ............................................................ 31 2.3.2 Conservation in Sundarban Imapct Zone, Bangladesh ........................................................... 32 2.4 Upstream developments ............................................................................................................ 33 2.5 Landscape changes ..................................................................................................................... 21 3. The ecological landscape .................................................................................................................... 36 3.1. Evolution and geomorphology of the Sundarban .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.1. Cretaceous-Tertiary evolution ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.2. Quaternary evolution ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.3. Holocene Sea-Level curve .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.4. Holocene evolution ........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.5. Evolution of the Sundarban Region ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.5.1. Accretion of the Sundarban ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.5.2. Reclamation and present status of the Sundarban ................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.5.3. Landforms .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.6. Coastal forcings .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.6.1. Tides ........................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.6.2. Climate ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.6.3. Cyclones ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.6.4. Sea level rise ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.7. Coastal changes.............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.7.1. Mapping history ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2 3.1.7.2. Characteristics of change ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.1.7.3. Causes of change........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2. Hydrology of Sundarban Delta ........................................................................................................ 56 3.2.1 River system ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.2 Impact of Human Intervention on the Major River system ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.3 Hydrology ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.4 Water Quality ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.1. Impact of Salinity increase in the Sundarban ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.2. Land Cover ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.3. Plants of the Sundarban .................................................................................................................... 6 3.3.1. Structure and physiognomy ........................................................................................................ 11 3.3.2. Forest Types ................................................................................................................................ 12 3.3.3. Vegetation of the sea shore ........................................................................................................ 16 3.3.4. Geomorphology, sedimentation & Topography ......................................................................... 17 3.3.5. Historical changes in vegetation ................................................................................................. 19 3.3.6. Change of vegetation in between 1985 and 1997 ...................................................................... 19 3.4. Wildlife and fisheries of the Sundarban.......................................................................................... 27 3.4.1. Different types of wildlife and their habitat ............................................................................... 27 3.4.2. Status of Wildlife ......................................................................................................................... 30 3.4.3. Threats to Wildlife....................................................................................................................... 32 3.5. Natural disasters ............................................................................................................................... 2 3.5.1. Tropical Cyclones and Storm Surges ............................................................................................. 2 4. The socio-economic landscape (SIZ, Bangladesh and SBR, India) ....................................................... 35 4.1 Demography ................................................................................................................................ 37 4.2 Income Level and Poverty ........................................................................................................... 40 4.3 Forest Dependent Livelihoods in Sundarban .............................................................................. 42 4.3.1 Forest Dependent livelihood in Indian Sundarban Biosphere Reserve (SBR) ......................... 42 Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ............................................................................................................. 42 Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) collection ..................................................................................... 43 4.3.2 Forest Dependent livelihood in Bangladesh SIZ...................................................................... 44 Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ............................................................................................................. 45 4.4 Peripheral Livelihoods ................................................................................................................. 47 4.4.1 Peripheral Livelihoods in Indian Sundarban Biosphere Reserve ............................................ 47 3 Agriculture .............................................................................................................................................. 48 Aquaculture............................................................................................................................................