Experts claim that microbial-fungal infections and insect pests have also been brought on by rising temperatures and increased salinity. Heat records have been breaking every year since 2015, making the last five years the warmest on record. Through the study of remote sensing data, researcher Katie Louise Awty-Carroll and her team from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University in the UK have shown that there is a 25% downward trend in mangrove cover as a result of die-back on Sundari trees. We will discuss more how the delta of the Sundarban in danger.

Future deterioration in these places is now more likely, especially if extreme occurrences like cyclones become more frequent.

Sundarban Ecological Conditions:

Forest guard Amin Chand Mondal (also in the video interview) recalls the 1970s and 1980s when logging permission was granted in several forest blocks for the Sundari as he navigates one of the numerous tiny streams in the mangrove near Bonnie camp (21°49’50″N, 88°37’24″E).

This likely spelt the end for the species because its wood was highly valued for use in boats, bridges, and buildings. According to Mondal, the vast majority of the majestic, ancient Sundari trees were cut down due to human greed; those that survived had an existential crisis. The Sundari tree used to be common in the mangrove forest, but finding one now is like hunting for a needle in a haystack.

Sundarban Tourism

In the West Bengal Forest Department, there are many people like Mondal who bravely protect the nearly impenetrable Sundarban mangrove, day and night, despite challenging weather sundarban tour conditions and the constant threat of life from wild animals, particularly the tiger. We will discuss more how the delta of the Sundarban in danger.

They have a keen eye for recognising endangered animals, poachers, and even illegal honey gatherers. They are familiar with every little creek and island in this deep forest (which to an outsider seems the same). When a visitor or naturalist asks about the illusive Sundari, they are almost always baffled, especially the elder generation. Except for the little plantings carried out by the forest department at their outposts, several of the younger guards have never seen Sundari. We will discuss more how the delta of the Sundarban in danger.

 For a number of years, visitors—including scientists—have returned despondent from the forest after failing to see the species. It is not ironic that none of the posters, brochures, or other visual representations of the Sunderbans that promote and describe the area ever include the Sundari tree. Instead, the red mangrove (Rhizophora apiculata, also known as Gorjon locally), which is its hallmark species, is what we can observe.