Sundarban of Bangladesh

Our Story

Bangladesh Sundarban Forest Area & Composition:
Largest patch of Mangrove Forest in the world
Comprising an area of about 6017 km²
Constitutes 51% of the total reserved forest of Bangladesh

334 plant species with additionally 165 algae and 13 Orchid species
375 wildlife species (35 reptiles, 42 mammals, 315 birds)
291 fish species (210 whitefish, 24 shrimp), 14 crab, 43 mollusk

Three wildlife sanctuaries or protected areas of Sundarban designated as World Heritage Site by UNESCO 1997. The three Wildlife Sanctuaries are

► Sundarban East WS (Katka, Kochikhali) 1,21,920 ha.
►Sundarban South WS (Nilkamal), 75,310 ha.
►Sundarban West WS (Mandarbaria-Notabaki) 1,19,718 ha.
Three WS/Protected Area: Total 3,17,950 ha. (52% of SRF)

Critically endangered species:
Royal Bengal Tiger
Estuarine Crocodile
Marine Turtles
Ganges River Dolphin
Otter
Several birds and fish species

Environmental Support:
Vital shelterbelt against tidal waves and cyclone storms

Sundarban is comprises of three Wildlife Sanctuaries (WS) established in 1977 in 1,39,700 hectares under WL Preservation Act 1974.
At first, Sundarban East WS was established in 1960 through the notification of Forest Act 1927.
To ensure additional protection for wildlife habitat and natural resources three areas of Sundarban had been designated as WS.

Sundarban’s three WS is very rich in biodiversity and very important due to UNESCO world heritage 1997 and Ramsar site declaration 1992.

In 1828, British government first took the control over Sundarban management.
Sundarban was declared as Reserved Forests in 1878 and was handed over to the Forest Department in 1879 for management.

From the 1912 Sundarban was managed under working schemes named as management plan or working plan.

Early management of Sundarban concentrated simply on revenue collection and the enforcement of felling rules to reduce over-cutting.

Recently, forest resource management goal has shifted to increase emphasis upon environmental protection, restoration and socio-economic issues.

There are three Dolphin Wildlife Sanctuary in Sundarban.

Dudhmukhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Sundarban East Forest Division, Bagerhat, area 170.00 ha, declared on 29-01-2012

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