The Sundarbans (Bengali:
সুন্দরবন, Shundorbôn) is a natural
region in Bengal.
It is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest
in the world. The
Sundarbans covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres
(3,900 sq mi) of which 60 percent is in Bangladesh
with the remainder in India. The
Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Sundarbans National Park is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere
Reserve located in the Sundarbans delta
in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sundarbans South, East and West are three protected forests
in Bangladesh.
This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one
of the largest reserves for the Bengal
tiger.
Etymology
The name Sundarban can be literally translated as
"beautiful forest" in the Bengali
language (Shundor, "beautiful" and bon,
"forest"). The name may have been derived from the Sundari
trees (the mangrove species Heritiera fomes) that are found in
Sundarbans in large numbers. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name
is a corruption of Samudraban, Shomudrobôn ("Sea Forest"),
or Chandra-bandhe (name of a primitive tribe). However, the generally
accepted view is the one associated with Sundari trees.
History
History
The history of the area can be traced back to 200–300 AD. A ruin of a city
built by Chand Sadagar has been found in the Baghmara Forest
Block. During the Mughal period, the Mughal Kings leased the forests of
the Sundarbans to nearby residents. Many criminals took refuge in the
Sundarbans from the advancing armies of Emperor Akbar. Many have been
known to be attacked by tigers. Many
of the buildings which were built by them later fell to hands of Portuguese
pirates, salt smugglers and dacoits in the 17th century. Evidence of the fact can be
traced from the ruins at Netidhopani and other places scattered all over
Sundarbans. The
legal status of the forests underwent a series of changes, including the
distinction of being the first mangrove forest in the world to be brought under scientific
management. The area was mapped first in Persian, by the Surveyor
General as early as 1764 following soon after proprietary rights were
obtained from the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II
by the British East India Company in 1757. Systematic
management of this forest tract started in the 1860s after the establishment of
a Forest Department in the Province of
Bengal, in British
India. The management was entirely designed to extract whatever treasures
were available, but labour and lower management mostly were staffed by locals,
as the British had no expertise or adaptation experience in mangrove forests.
The first Forest Management Division to have jurisdiction over the
Sundarbans was established in 1869. In 1875 a large portion of the mangrove
forests was declared as reserved
forests under the Forest Act, 1865 (Act VIII of 1865). The remaining portions
of the forests were declared a reserve forest the following year and the
forest, which was so far administered by the civil administration district, was
placed under the control of the Forest Department. A Forest Division, which is
the basic forest management and administration unit, was created in 1879 with
the headquarters in Khulna,
Bangladesh. The first
management plan was written for the period 1893–98.
In 1911, it was described as a tract of waste country which had never been
surveyed, nor had the census been extended to it. It then stretched for about
266 kilometres (165 mi) from the mouth of the Hugli
to the mouth of the Meghna
river and was bordered inland by the three settled districts of the 24 Parganas,
Khulna and Bakerganj. The total area (including water) was
estimated at 16,900 square kilometres (6,526 sq mi). It was a
water-logged jungle, in which tigers and other wild beasts abounded. Attempts
at reclamation had not been very successful. The Sundarbans was everywhere
intersected by river channels and creeks, some of which afforded water
communication throughout the Bengal region
both for steamers
and for native boats.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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