Introduction
Situated at the deltaic confluence of three great Asian rivers—the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna—the Sundarbans is a testament to nature’s resilience and complexity. Spanning approximately 10,000 square kilometers (about half the area of New Jersey), this labyrinthine network of tidal waterways, mudflats, and small islands is predominantly situated in Bangladesh, with a smaller portion extending into India. The topographic and ecological uniqueness of this area earned it the designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attesting to its global environmental significance and the imperative for its conservation.
The Sundarbans mangrove forest covers an area of about 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi), of which forests in Bangladesh’s Khulna Division extend over 6,017 km2 (2,323 sq mi). The most abundant tree species are Sundari and Gewa. The forests provide habitat to 453 faunal wildlife, including 290 birds, 120 fish, 42 mammals, 35 reptiles, and eight amphibian species. The decline of the Sundarbans’ forest cover over the past five decades has been depicted through a chronological analysis of land cover changes from 1973 to 2024. In 1973, the Sundarbans boasted a dense forest cover that constituted 94.2% of the area, reflecting a robust mangrove ecosystem. The cartographic analysis of the Sundarbans Forest Area in 1973, as depicted in the provided map, offers an historical baseline for understanding the extent of mangrove coverage prior to the subsequent decades of ecological change.
Decline of Forest Coverage and Land Mass By 2024, this figure had diminished to 91.5%. Although the decrease may seem marginal at first glance, it translates into a significant loss of dense mangrove habitat when considering the extensive scale of the forest. This loss is not merely numerical value but symbolizes the retreat of a critical ecological stronghold that provides vital services, ranging from carbon sequestration to coastal protection and biodiversity sustenance. The less dense forest, while occupying a smaller fraction of the land cover, shows a slight decrease from 1.0% to 0.9%. This reduction, albeit minor, further corroborates the trend of declining forest robustness and could be indicative of the degradation of forest quality or transitional stages towards other land cover types, possibly due to anthropogenic pressures or natural forest dynamics.
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