After Oil Spill in Bangladesh’s Unique Mangrove Forest, Fears About Rare Animals

Oil from a wrecked tanker is creating a disaster in the waters of Bangladesh’s Sundarbans, the largest contiguous tidal mangrove forest in the world and a haven for a spectacular array of species, including the rareIrrawaddy and Gangetic dolphins and the highly endangered Bengal tiger. 

“This catastrophe is unprecedented in the Sundarbans, and we don’t know how to tackle this,” Amir Hossain, chief forest official of the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, told reporters.

Named for the native sundari tree, the Sundarbans is a vast delta of densely forested, mangrove-fringed islands threaded by an intricate network of creeks and channels, or canals. The delta is a UNESCO World Heritage site that encompasses some 3,850 square miles (1,000 square kilometers), with roughly one-third lying in India and two-thirds in Bangladesh.

On both sides of the border, densely populated villages abut protected areas set aside for the region’s extraordinary biodiversity.

Read more: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141216-sundarbans-oil-spill-bangladesh-tigers-dolphins-conservation/

Posted by admin on Dec 29 2014. Filed under Biodiversity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry