Sunderbans

GS PAPER II: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: Ripples from Cyclone Yaas and surging tides devastate the Sunderbans

• Over just the past three years, the Sunderbans, which is home to close to five million people, has been battered by four tropical cyclones — Fani (May 2019), Bulbul (November 2019), Amphan (May 2020) and Yaas (May 2021).

Sunderbans

• Sundarbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal.
• It comprises closed and open mangrove forests, land used for agricultural purpose, mudflats and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels.
• Four protected areas in the Sundarbans are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, viz. Sundarbans National Park, Sundarbans West, Sundarbans South and Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• Despite these protections, the Indian Sundarbans were considered endangered in a 2020 assessment under the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems framework

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/ripples-from-cyclone-yaas-and-surging-tides-devastate-the-sunderbans/article34678971.ece?homepage=true