The Sundarbans wetlands in India were designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on January 30th, 2019 marking it as the 27th Ramsar site. The Ganga and Brahmaputra deltas at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal in India and Bangladesh contain hundreds of islands and a network of rivers, tributaries, and creeks. The Indian Sundarban, located in the southern region of the delta, covers more than 60% of the country’s total mangrove forest area.

Wetlands in India: 

In India, there are 19 different types of wetlands covering 4.63 percent of the country’s total land area. Gujarat is the state with the most wetlands, accounting for 17.56 percent of the state’s entire geographical area and 22.7 percent of the country’s total wetlands areas, attributable to its lengthy coastline. 

Additionally, there are 42 Ramsar Sites with a total surface area of 1.08 million hectares. The wetland ecology of the Sundarbans National Park, which includes tidal rivers, streams, and canals, is home to numerous rare animal species, including endangered aquatic mammals like the Irrawaddy, Ganges-river dolphins, and the world’s single largest population of tigers.

Features of Sunderbans: 

• Its mangrove forest serves as a natural flood barrier, shielding the coastal population from the devastating effects of cyclones that ravage the region. 
• With 63 of India’s 69 mangrove species, the region encompasses 85 percent of the country’s mangrove habitat. The algal flora of the Sundarbans has not been studied in-depth, but a recent study in the Indian part of the Sundarbans identified 150 species.
• Storm surges, currents, waves, and tides cause erosion along the coast, but mangrove forests help to stabilize it. 
• Mangrove forests are also attractive to fish and other organisms looking for food and protection from predators because of their intricate root system.

Ecological Significance of Sundarbans Wetland: 

They support the eastern coast’s fisheries by acting as nurseries for shellfish and finfish. The Sundarban Tiger Reserve is part of the Site, and a portion of it has been designated as a “critical tiger habitat” under national law, as well as a “Tiger Conservation Landscape” of international significance. 

The Sundarbans are the only mangrove ecosystem where tigers can be found in large numbers, and they have special water hunting abilities. A great variety of rare and internationally threatened species, including the severely endangered northern river terrapin (Batagur baska), the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), and the vulnerable fisher cat, call the Site home (Prionailurus viverrinus). 

Two of the world’s four horseshoe crab species can be found here, as well as eight of India’s twelve kingfisher species. The Site’s protection and management are a conservation priority due to the habitat’s uniqueness and biodiversity, as well as the numerous physical and intangible local, regional, and global services they provide.

Ramsar Convention: Ramsar Convention: 

The Ramsar Convention is a pact that protects wetlands around the world. It was created to safeguard wetlands more than 40 years ago. More than 2,400 wetlands have been recognized as Wetlands of International Importance, encompassing 630,000,000 acres. It was signed on February 2, 1971, by 171 countries totaling 253.6 million hectares.

As it mandates contracting parties to adopt National Wetland Policies, produce wetland inventories, conduct wetland monitoring and research, raise public awareness of wetlands, and develop integrated management plans for wetlands sites, it is a significant way to conserve endangered wetlands to the Ramsar Convention which is expected to help in protecting it. 

Ramsar Recognition: 

The Ramsar status will help to raise awareness of the Sundarbans’ conservation challenges on a global scale. In 1992, a portion of the Sundarban delta in Bangladesh was designated as a Ramsar site, and now that Indian Sundarban has been designated as well, an international collaboration between the two countries for the protection of this unique ecosystem will grow. This could result in a more effective conservation strategy for iconic species like the tiger and northern river terrapin.

Threats Faced: 

• Despite the fact that the Indian Sundarban is a biodiverse reserve, nearly four million people dwell on its northern and northwestern outskirts, placing strain on the ecology.
• It is vulnerable to climate change, as well as anthropogenic stresses, and requires better management and conservation measures.
• Natural habitats are being altered for shrimp, crab, mollusks, and fish farming, which has caused concerns.
• Dredging, oil and gas drilling, logging and wood harvesting, hunting, and collecting terrestrial animals are among the other threats.
• Fishing and aquatic resource gathering are listed as a “high impact” actual threat to the wetland on the Ramsar Information Sheet.
• Tourism has been classified as a low-impact actual threat in the region, while salinity has been classified as a medium hazard.

Conclusion: 

According to research published by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests, with 35 percent of wetlands destroyed between 1970 and 2015. Now is the moment to take action. It’s too late to go back and correct our mistakes, but it’s not too late to make amends. If we want to change the Sundarbans’ fate, we must change our way of life.