Species of Sundarbans threatened by human activities
Date: 24 September 2021 Tags: BiodiversityIssue
Continuous loss of biodiversity has been observed along the human settlement areas of Sundarbans of India.
Background
The world has recently completed United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020). The importance of biodiversity has been slowly realized.
Details
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The Sundarban region is famous for many rare and threatened flora and fauna. They are necessary to maintain the integrity of the mangrove ecosystem.
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The development of coastal infrastructure along with short term gains has gradually eroded the mangrove forests.
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The loss of small patches may look less significant but these small patches host unique plant species that are natural habitats for several exotic fauna.
The upcoming threats
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Coastal fisheries are the biggest culprit behind the drastic loss of mangrove habitats. Plants are being cleared for fisheries, aquaculture, pisciculture, shrimp farming, crab farming.
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The pisciculture and aquaculture farming in Sundarban is a source of income for many people. This has made them extremely popular reason for destruction of habitat.
Importance
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The building of dykes for protecting coastal villages against storm surges has been a big problem. The marine nutrients are unable to reach deeper mangrove areas.
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As mangrove plants get destroyed, new exotic species will replace them. Many threatened species depending on mangrove plants will permanently extinct.
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The discharges from fish ponds have polluted natural streams. Diverse molluscs and crustaceans have reported decline in their numbers. Many have vanished from human areas.