UK sponsors Sunderbans replanting

In response to the possibility of massive damage to the West Bengal coastline caused by global warming and associated climate change in the Bay of Bengal, the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata has taken up an initiative to meet climate change wanring by planting mangroves along a 6km stretch of threatened riverbank in the Sunderbans, the largest mangrove delta in the world.

The British high commissioner, Richard Stagg, recently inaugurated the project in Mathurakhand on Bali island in the Sunderbans. It will be implemented by Kolkata-based Nature, Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS).

More than four lakh mangroves will be planted over an area covering half a square kilometre. The villages covered were Mathurakhand and Amlamethi in Bali Island in the Sunderban Tiger Reserve.

According to projections, these villages faced the greatest threat from rising sea levels. "I learnt that of the 3,500km of shoreline in the Sunderbans, more than 2,000km are today without the necessary mangrove cover," Stagg said.

He said it was essential that an eco-system like the Sunderbans had its natural defenses in place. Highlighting the importance of mangrove forests, the high comissioner pointed out that mangrove forests brought down the wind speed of cyclone Sidr last September from 240km per hour to a 100km per hour.

This significantly decreased the damage caused by Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh. With the main planting season being April, NEWS would use the current month to conduct awareness camps, organize villagers into groups for project implementation work, and prepare sapling and seeds needed for planting.

The project cost is around 27,500 pounds that will be funded by the British High Comission at Kolkata.