LARGEST DELTA IN WORLD

Sundarban, the largest delta in the world, consists of 10,200 sq km of MangroveForest , spread over India (4200 sq km of Reserved Forest ) and Bangladesh (6000 sq km approx of Reserved Forest ) and is also the largest Mangrove Forest in the world. Another 5400 sq km of non-forest, inhabited region in India , along the north and north-western fringe of mangrove forest, is also known as Sundarban region inIndia . Hence, the total area of Sundarban region in India is 9600 sq km which constitutes the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve.

The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the (Sundar, "beautiful" and bans, "forest" or "jungle"). The name may have been derived from the Sundari trees that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers.

Home of the Royal Bengal Tigers In the south western part of Bangladesh, in the district of greater Khulna, lies the Sundarbans, "the beautiful forest." It is a virgin forest which until recently owed nothing to human endeavour and yet nature has laid it out with as much care as a planned pleasure ground. For miles and miles, the lofty treetops form an unbroken canopy, while nearer the ground, works of high and ebb-tide marked on the soil and tree trunks and the many varieties of the natural mangrove forest have much to offer to an inquisitive visitor.

Sundarban Biosphere Reserve was constituted by Government of India (GOI)in 1989 and it received the recognition of UNESCO under its Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme in November, 2001. Sundarban National Park , forming the core area of Sundarban Tiger Reserve, received recognition as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. It has been nominated by GOI for recognition as Ramsar Site (a wetland of international importance). Sundarban Tiger Reserve was constituted by GOI under Project Tiger scheme, in 1973. Sundarban is the only mangrove forest in the world which is the home of Tiger. Sundarban Tiger Reserve has the highest tiger population in the world.

Sundarban has extremely rich diversity of aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna. Sundarban's highly productive ecosystem acts as a natural fish nursery. Sundarban Mangrove reduces the fury of cyclonic storm and prevents erosion due to tidal action. Finally, millions of people depend on Sundarban Ecosystem for their livelihood and sustenance through fishing, collection of honey and fuelwood/timber.

Monitoring of tigers, which is popularly known as the “Tiger Census” is in fact an exercise for the estimation of tiger population. The estimation of wildlife or wildlife monitoring is extremely important to the management to ascertain how the species are responding to the current management practices. Based on monitoring results the necessary changes are made in the management practices to make them more effective. The tiger estimation has traditionally been done in Sundarban by “Pug Mark Method” in which the fresh left hind pug mark impression is collected from the field and analyzed. The Pugmark method was field friendly but due to some of the drawbacks, Project Tiger developed a new methodology for the “Monitoring of Tigers, Co-predators, Prey and Habitat”
The Monitoring of Tiger, Co-predators, Prey and Habitat Exercise in Sundarban was conducted from 5th January 2006 to 10th January 2006, as a part of All India estimation of Tiger, Co-predators, Prey and Habitat exercise.
First time the methodology of Tiger Census was changed from traditional “Plaster Cast method” to a four Phase elaborate process in which it was the responsibility of PA managers to collect the signages and other information as part of Phase –I. Hence the exercise conducted in January, 2006 as mentioned above was the Phase –I of the All India Tiger, Co-predators, Prey and habitat Monitoring as prescribed by Project tiger, Ministry of environment & Forests.

Sundarban represents a society that is primarily agricultural. The people live in villages adjoining forests which is the home of Tiger. For survival, these people have to fight with the nature day in and day out. The hardships of daily existence have given rise to fraternal feelings and non-communal traditions. Members of both Hindu and Muslim communities worship the same Gods and Goddesses, Gazis and Pirs. The two most famous among them are Dakshin Ray and Banabibi. Dakshin Ray is worshiped as the God of tiger and all those who enter the forests for subsistence, worship Dakshin Ray irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. Banabibi, on the other hand, is considered as the protector of the inhabitants of the forests. She is popular both amongst Hindus and Muslim.

The tiger reserve in Sunderban is a major tourist attraction. The number of tigers in this reserve is among the highest in the country. According to a census conducted in the 1980, the population of tiger here was close to 400. Besides the tiger, other forms of wildlife also inhabit these mangrove forests. The Gangetic dolphin, little porpoise, fishing cat, Indian fox, jungle cat, small Indian civet, common grey mongoose, spotted deer, wild pig, Indian flying fox, rhesus monkey and pangolin are some of the residents here.

The bird sanctuary at Sajnekhali contains a wide variety of birds. The most noteworthy among them are spotted billed pelican, cotton teal, herring gull, Caspian tern, grey heron, large egret, night heron, open-billed stork, white ibis, common kingfisher, brahmini kite and paradise flycatcher. The area is also important for waders, including the Asian dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus), a rare winter migrant.

The Sunderban National Park also has a wide variety of flora. There is mangrove scrub, littoral forest, salt water mixed forest, brackish water mixed forest and swamp forest. The distribution of wildlife and vegetation is even throughout the Sunderban area.