Banglar Bir
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2006
- Messages
- 7,805
- Reaction score
- -3
- Country
- Location
Sundarban in Monsoon
Flower of Ora (Sonneratia caseolaris.) Photo: Ihtisham Kabir
Ihtisham Kabir
I have been to Sundarban several times but never in monsoon, so when a friend invited me to join a group of photographers on a trip to Sundarban, I was delighted. We boarded the night train from Dhaka to Khulna in the early evening. Upon arrival at Khulna station the next morning, we walked a short distance to the ghat where our boat, M.V. Bhela of Bengal Tours, awaited us.
It took us the better part of the day to reach the forest. The riparian scenery unfolded before my eyes from urban to suburban and industrial to rural and, finally, the forest. As its lush monsoon greenery came into view, my emotions ran away with me. Once again I was amazed and speechless at the beauty of the magnificent forest.
As my eyes feasted on the green, I could not help but wonder: what a stroke of good fortune we have managed to preserve Sundarban!
Consider the facts. In this small land of 145,000 square kilometres are packed 160 million people. That's a population density of over 1100 people per square mile. And within this we have, virtually untouched, the Bangladesh Sundarban which takes up 6000 square kilometres or over 4% of our country. Adding the other protected areas scattered throughout Bangladesh triples or quadruples this percentage.
Compare this to the nation which has led the world in modern conservation thought and methodology. The United States has 323 million people in 9.8 million square kilometres and population density of 32 per square kilometres. The area of protected land there is approximately 540,000 square kilometres or around 5.5%.
My point is that we have a lot to be proud of. Despite our population pressure we still have much left in nature. In Sundarban, this revelation comes as a welcome surprise.
And we have a lot to lose if we don't protect it vigilantly.
The sharp dive of a Brahminy kite catching fish wakes me from daydreaming. On the banks of the swollen river, monsoon has brought new life to the trees. The fruits of goran, sundari, gewa and keora hang from the branches. The gorgeous starlike flowers of ora break up the green and attract brightly coloured sunbirds. Nearer the ground, a buzz of wasps, bees and other flying insects jostle each other for pollen and nectar of golpata's yellow flowers.
Much remains to be learned from the forest. A scientist working in the forest informs us that the brown vine snake, which I photographed here five years ago for my book on Sundarban, has been re-classified as an entirely new species. The mysterious and rare bird, masked finfoot, which is found in Bangladeshi but not Indian Sundarban, is also the subject of field research. And some of the salt pots found along the coast of Sundarban appear to be many centuries old.
How is it that we have managed to save this treasure? Fear of the tiger discouraged human encroachment. The land, covered everywhere by deep, sticky mud and pointed mangrove roots, is not exactly inviting to humans. The administrative mandates from British times to the present protecting this forest – the size of the Wildlife Sanctuary within the forest was recently doubled – have also helped.
Sundarban is our treasure. It is up to us to take care of it.
Flower of Ora (Sonneratia caseolaris.) Photo: Ihtisham Kabir
Ihtisham Kabir
I have been to Sundarban several times but never in monsoon, so when a friend invited me to join a group of photographers on a trip to Sundarban, I was delighted. We boarded the night train from Dhaka to Khulna in the early evening. Upon arrival at Khulna station the next morning, we walked a short distance to the ghat where our boat, M.V. Bhela of Bengal Tours, awaited us.
It took us the better part of the day to reach the forest. The riparian scenery unfolded before my eyes from urban to suburban and industrial to rural and, finally, the forest. As its lush monsoon greenery came into view, my emotions ran away with me. Once again I was amazed and speechless at the beauty of the magnificent forest.
As my eyes feasted on the green, I could not help but wonder: what a stroke of good fortune we have managed to preserve Sundarban!
Consider the facts. In this small land of 145,000 square kilometres are packed 160 million people. That's a population density of over 1100 people per square mile. And within this we have, virtually untouched, the Bangladesh Sundarban which takes up 6000 square kilometres or over 4% of our country. Adding the other protected areas scattered throughout Bangladesh triples or quadruples this percentage.
Compare this to the nation which has led the world in modern conservation thought and methodology. The United States has 323 million people in 9.8 million square kilometres and population density of 32 per square kilometres. The area of protected land there is approximately 540,000 square kilometres or around 5.5%.
My point is that we have a lot to be proud of. Despite our population pressure we still have much left in nature. In Sundarban, this revelation comes as a welcome surprise.
And we have a lot to lose if we don't protect it vigilantly.
The sharp dive of a Brahminy kite catching fish wakes me from daydreaming. On the banks of the swollen river, monsoon has brought new life to the trees. The fruits of goran, sundari, gewa and keora hang from the branches. The gorgeous starlike flowers of ora break up the green and attract brightly coloured sunbirds. Nearer the ground, a buzz of wasps, bees and other flying insects jostle each other for pollen and nectar of golpata's yellow flowers.
Much remains to be learned from the forest. A scientist working in the forest informs us that the brown vine snake, which I photographed here five years ago for my book on Sundarban, has been re-classified as an entirely new species. The mysterious and rare bird, masked finfoot, which is found in Bangladeshi but not Indian Sundarban, is also the subject of field research. And some of the salt pots found along the coast of Sundarban appear to be many centuries old.
How is it that we have managed to save this treasure? Fear of the tiger discouraged human encroachment. The land, covered everywhere by deep, sticky mud and pointed mangrove roots, is not exactly inviting to humans. The administrative mandates from British times to the present protecting this forest – the size of the Wildlife Sanctuary within the forest was recently doubled – have also helped.
Sundarban is our treasure. It is up to us to take care of it.
