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Mohammad Aminur Rahman Shah - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Climate change impacts on the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem services and dependent livelihoods in Bangladesh
2013Co-Authors: Shams Uddin, Mohammad Aminur Rahman Shah, Shahida KhanomAbstract:The Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh provides ecosystem services having great importance for local livelihoods, national economy and global environment. Nevertheless, the Sundarbans is threatened by various natural and anthropogenic pressures including climate change. This paper presents the potential impacts of climate change on the ecosystem services of the Sundarbans and the forest dependent livelihoods. Both secondary information on climate change impacts and primary data on forest dependent livelihoods were used for the analysis. Recent study revealed that the suitable area of two dominant tree species ofthe Sundarbans - Sundri (Heritiera fomes) and Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha) may be decreased significantly by the year 2100 due to sea level rise (88 cm) in the Sundarbans compared to the year 2001, which may be reduce the timber stock of those trees. This indicates the potential loss of economic value of the key provisioning services of Sundarbans. Similarly, the other ecosystem services (e.g. fisheries, tourism, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, etc.) maybe affected by climate change. Consequently, the forest dependent livelihoods would be affected by the degraded ecosystem services of the forest. Further studies should quantify the impacts of climate change on all the ecosystem services and explore the potential loss and opportunities in future. A new paradigm of management should look forward considering climate change, ecological integrity, sustainable harvesting and ensuring continuity of the ecosystem services of the Sundarbans.
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economic valuation of provisioning and cultural services of a protected mangrove ecosystem a case study on Sundarbans reserve forest bangladesh
Ecosystem services, 2013Co-Authors: Md Shams Uddin, E De Ruyter Van Steveninck, Mishka Stuip, Mohammad Aminur Rahman ShahAbstract:The Sundarbans Reserve Forest, the world's largest mangroves covering 6000 km2 in Bangladesh, provides a variety of ecosystem services. The real contribution of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest to the national economy has not been evaluated so far. This study aims to provide an economic estimation of the provisioning and cultural services of the Sundarbans. Official records of revenue collected by the Forest Department were the sources of information used in the economic valuation of the forest. The major provisioning services of the Sundarbans are timber, fuel wood, fish, thatching materials, honey and waxes. And the main culture service is tourism. The provisioning and cultural services provided by the Sundarbans contributed to revenue of the Forest Department on an average US$ 744,000 and US$ 42,000 per year respectively during financial year 2001–2002 to 2009–2010. The revenue collection from the forest products and tourism showed increasing trend over the study period, except for the timbers. The Forest Department produces economic benefits out of the ecosystem services without knowing the optimum limits and how long they can harness the economic benefits. A comprehensive economic valuation of the total stock and potential of all the ecosystem services of the Sundarbans as well as defining limits of sustainable yield of the services under different socio-economic and climate change scenarios would be necessary to enhance sustainable management of the forest.
Sajal Roy - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Unwrapping the Memory Box: Gendered Livelihoods in a Forest Community in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh
Asian Journal of Social Science, 2020Co-Authors: Sajal Roy, Habib Zafarullah, Arunima Kishore DasAbstract:Abstract The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, has been undergoing significant ecological changes due to climate change-related weather events since the late 1990s. This forest, situated in south-west Bangladesh, provides livelihood services to 3.5 million people. The livelihood provision of the Sundarbans forest has been invented due to climate-induced disasters, such as cyclones, sea-level rise, salinisation, heat waves, and flooding. Considering the impacts of cyclones Aila and Sidr, this autoethnographic study closely examines the long-established perceptions of women and men about the resources of the Sundarbans. While doing so, this study uses feminist political ecology as a theoretical framework. This study examines how these two cyclones transformed lives and gendered livelihoods of the villagers of Shora in the Sundarbans forest.
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Livelihood Resilience of the Indigenous Munda Community in the Bangladesh Sundarbans Forest
Handbook of Climate Change Resilience, 2020Co-Authors: Sajal RoyAbstract:The Indigenous (Adivasi) Munda community in the village of Kalinchi in Shyamnagar upazilla (subdistrict), Satkhira of Bangladesh has undergone severe threats to livelihood due to the long-term effects of climatic disasters (such as: tropical cyclones, floods, salinity intrusion, famine, and heat waves). Kalinchi is situated adjacent to the riverbank of Dhojikhali near the Sundarbans Forest. This is the largest mangrove forest in the world, and it provides livelihood support to a large number of the coastal populations southwest of Bangladesh. The Adivasi Munda Community at Kalinchi has been traditionally earning a livelihood (such as harvesting honey, catching fishes and crabs in the forest surrounding rivers and channels, cutting trees and timbers) in the Sundarbans Forest. The earning of livelihoods was severely threatened, due to the severe Cyclone Aila on 9 May 2009. This chapter primarily considers the long-term socioeconomic and ecological impacts of Aila on traditional livelihoods in the Sundarbans. The current study then documents resilience with a particular focus on the human livelihood of the untouchable Adivasi Munda Community dwelling near the Bangladesh Sundarbans Forest. An autoethnographic approach combing both focus groups and face-to-face life story interviews has been utilized in this study.
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Climate Change Impacts on Gender Relations in Bangladesh: Socio-environmental Struggle of the Shora Forest Community in the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest
2019Co-Authors: Sajal RoyAbstract:Chapter 1. Introduction: Sundarbans Forest and the Gendered Context of Cyclones Aila and Sidr -- Chapter 2. Theoretical Approaches: Gendered Knowledge in Forest, Ecology and Environment -- Chapter 3. Methods and Methodology -- Chapter 4. Narratives of the Sundarbans Forest at Shora -- Chapter 5. Women’s perceptions of and behaviours toward the Sundarbans forest -- Chapter 6. Survival at Shora: Ecological Security and the Sundarbans Forest -- Chapter 7. Implications of the gendered knowledge about the Sundarbans Forest at Shora and beyond.
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Women’s Use of the Sundarbans Forest Resources
Climate Change Impacts on Gender Relations in Bangladesh, 2019Co-Authors: Sajal RoyAbstract:This section of the book is a detail description of the whole process of the women’s resource collection from and use of Sundarbans forest. The women of Shora community have different layers of activities related to Sundarbans forest, e.g. preparation, resource collection, resource processing, resource selling, household use of the resources and so forth. Women of Shora community have to go through a continuous struggle with men in the market place and society to make their living. Women play a great role in the conservation of Sundarbans forest as the empirical data shows that their activities are not harmful to the forest ecology. To conclude, women of Shora community are overcoming the established gendered norms through their unique financial activities on Sundarbans forest, and their developed knowledge is helping them in this whole process.
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Implications of the Gendered Knowledge About the Sundarbans Forest at Shora and Beyond
Climate Change Impacts on Gender Relations in Bangladesh, 2019Co-Authors: Sajal RoyAbstract:Shora as an island village is adjacent to the Bay of Bengal and Sundarbans mangrove forest. Lives and livelihoods of villagers of Shora have been completely dependent to the forest resources and rivers for centuries. Earning a livelihood in the Sundarbans is extremely risky for life. Fighting with a series of natural disasters, this chapter offers knowledge demonstrating how forest-going perceptions and behaviours of Shora people were impacted by cyclones Sidr and Aila. This chapter shows a cursory analysis of the implications of gendered knowledge about the Sundarbans Forest at Shora and beyond.
Adam Barlow - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Do rivers influence fine-scale population genetic structure of tigers in the Sundarbans?
Conservation Genetics, 2018Co-Authors: M. Abdul Aziz, Simon Tollington, Olutolani Smith, Adam Barlow, Md. Anwarul Islam, Jim J. GroombridgeAbstract:Global tiger Panthera tigris populations mostly survive within the geographically fragmented forest patches, thereby limited genetic exchange between isolated populations. Assessing the genetic status of these populations can reveal the effects of dispersal barriers and provide critical insights to guide future conservation actions. Using non-invasively collected biological samples, we investigated fine-scale genetic structure of tigers in the Sundarbans mangrove forests intersected by the complex river systems, and which holds one of the largest global tiger populations. We genotyped 52 tiger samples at 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci, and sequenced 33 of them for a total of 1263 base-pairs at four mitochondrial gene fragments. Microsatellite analyses exhibit a signature of fine-scale genetic structure, which might have been the consequence of limited tiger dispersal due to wide rivers across the Sundarbans. Similarly, mitochondrial data show a historic pattern of population isolation that might be due to wider rivers across the entire Sundarbans shared by Bangladesh and India. Given the intrinsic nature of the mangrove habitat embedded with numerous rivers, increased commercial traffic and human activities may further impede tiger dispersal across wide rivers, escalating further genetic isolation of the Sundarbans tigers.
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sea level rise and tigers predicted impacts to bangladesh s Sundarbans mangroves
Climatic Change, 2010Co-Authors: Colby Loucks, Adam Barlow, Shannon M Barbermeyer, Md Abdullah Abraham Hossain, Ruhul Mohaiman ChowdhuryAbstract:The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem, shared by India and Bangladesh, is recognized as a global priority for biodiversity conservation. Sea level rise, due to climate change, threatens the long term persistence of the Sundarbans forests and its biodiversity. Among the forests’ biota is the only tiger (Panthera tigris) population in the world adapted for life in mangrove forests. Prior predictions on the impacts of sea level rise on the Sundarbans have been hampered by coarse elevation data in this low-lying region, where every centimeter counts. Using high resolution elevation data, we estimate that with a 28 cm rise above 2000 sea levels, remaining tiger habitat in Bangladesh’s Sundarbans would decline by 96% and the number of breeding individuals would be reduced to less than 20. Assuming current sea level rise predictions and local conditions do not change, a 28 cm sea level rise is likely to occur in the next 50–90 years. If actions to both limit green house gas emissions and increase resilience of the Sundarbans are not initiated soon, the tigers of the Sundarbans may join the Arctic’s polar bears (Ursus maritimus) as early victims of climate change-induced habitat loss.
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Sea level rise and tigers: predicted impacts to Bangladesh’s Sundarbans mangroves
Climatic Change, 2009Co-Authors: Colby Loucks, Shannon M. Barber-meyer, Abdullah Abraham Hossain, Adam Barlow, Ruhul Mohaiman ChowdhuryAbstract:The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem, shared by India and Bangladesh, is recognized as a global priority for biodiversity conservation. Sea level rise, due to climate change, threatens the long term persistence of the Sundarbans forests and its biodiversity. Among the forests’ biota is the only tiger (Panthera tigris) population in the world adapted for life in mangrove forests. Prior predictions on the impacts of sea level rise on the Sundarbans have been hampered by coarse elevation data in this low-lying region, where every centimeter counts. Using high resolution elevation data, we estimate that with a 28 cm rise above 2000 sea levels, remaining tiger habitat in Bangladesh’s Sundarbans would decline by 96% and the number of breeding individuals would be reduced to less than 20. Assuming current sea level rise predictions and local conditions do not change, a 28 cm sea level rise is likely to occur in the next 50–90 years. If actions to both limit green house gas emissions and increase resilience of the Sundarbans are not initiated soon, the tigers of the Sundarbans may join the Arctic’s polar bears (Ursus maritimus) as early victims of climate change-induced habitat loss.
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linking monitoring and intervention for improved management of tigers in the Sundarbans of bangladesh
Biological Conservation, 2008Co-Authors: Adam Barlow, Md Ishtiaq U Ahmed, Md Mizanur Rahman, Alam Howlader, A Smith, James L SmithAbstract:Abstract Baseline data on distribution and abundance of tigers in the Sundarbans is required to identify problem areas and evaluate management strategies. This paper outlines a khal (creek) bank survey of track set frequency throughout the Bangladesh Sundarbans to aid formulation of a management-driven monitoring program. Three teams of two observers surveyed a total of 1 201 km of waterways throughout the Sundarbans, recording 1 338 tiger track sets. These sets became unrecognizable as tiger sign after a mean 10 days (range 6–14). Proportion of detectable sign recorded was 0.91. Mean (±standard error) sample unit track frequency was 1.12 ± 0.86 track sets/km of khal . The mean coefficient of variance in sample unit track rate, estimated by multiple counts of six sample units, was 0.21 (range 0.06–0.34). Track frequency generally increased from northeast to southwest. Four sample units (6%) had signs of reproduction, with a mean litter size of 1.75 ± 0.5. Monte Carlo simulation suggests a monitoring program of one complete survey every two years will have power of 0.8 ( α = 0.2), to detect track frequency declines of ⩾19% and increases of ⩾17%. We recommend this monitoring scheme be implemented on the Indian side of the Sundarbans to provide a standard assessment of the tiger population and to form the basis for setting management objectives and evaluating transboundary conservation initiatives.
Abhijit Mitra - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Spatial variation of the microbial diversity in the mangrove dominated Sundarban Forest of India
Recent Advancements in Microbial Diversity, 2020Co-Authors: Tapti Sengupta, Abhijit MitraAbstract:Abstract The deltaic Sundarbans, also known as the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve (SBR), consisting of mangrove ecosystems, are known for their rich taxonomic diversity of flora and fauna. The microbial community of Sundarbans provides multiple services to mankind starting from the production of bioactive substances to the maintenance of biogeochemical cycles. The Indian Sundarban is divided into three sectors depending on salinity, mainly the hyposaline region in the eastern and western parts of the deltaic complex and the central hypersaline sector. In all these sectors, the microbial community has not been studied in detail in terms of salinity and other environmental variables. The microbial community of deltaic Sundarban includes bacteria, fungi, cyanobacteria and phytoplankton in the ambient aquatic phase. A wide spectrum of bacterial strains are found in the detritus/litter of this complex environment and are thought to be associated with the benthic fauna/flora. These microbes vary depending on their niche specificity and form a heterogeneous association within the communities that directly affects the food web. Identified bacterium such as Bacillus spp., Brevibacterium spp., Clostridium spp., Corynebacterium spp. and Kurthia spp. are found to be proteolytic in nature, while Bacillus alvei, Kurthia bessoni and Brevibacterium spp. exhibit chitinolytic, ammonifying and pectinolytic properties, respectively. Analysis of estuarine water during 2017-18 confirms that the total coliform load varied from 620–1700 MPN/100 mL in Kakdwip (western Indian Sundarbans), 490–1300 MPN/100 mL in Canning (central Indian Sundarbans) and 170–600 MPN/100 mL in Bagmara (eastern Indian Sundarbans), respectively. The total coliforms recorded in the sediments of Kakdwip, Canning and Bagmara were 18.5–130 MPN/g, 9.5–90 MPN/g and 5–40 MPN/g, respectively. Industrial discharges from the port-cum-industrial complex of Haldia along with large number of mechanized and non-mechanized boats involved in fishing activities, make this region contaminated with different microbial population. The Canning zone has a high load of heterotrophs due to unorganized fishing, while in the region adjacent to Bangladesh and within the core zone of the mangrove forest (eastern Sundarbans), lowest microbial count is observed, which may be attributed to minimum anthropogenic activity in the region.
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Soil Organic Carbon (soc): A Proxy to Assess the Degree of Anthropogenic and Natural Stress
The Journal of Interrupted Studies, 2019Co-Authors: Joystu Dutta, Kakoli Banerjee, Sangita Agarwal, Abhijit MitraAbstract:The carbon budget of planet earth is regulated by the soil compartment in all types of ecosystems. We conducted a first order analysis of soc in November 2017 both in the mangrove dominated Indian Sundarbans and the highly urbanized city of Kolkata with the aim of identifying the natural and anthropogenic contributions of organic carbon in soil. We also attempted to analyze the spatial variation of soc between these two significantly different ecosystems. We observed a comparatively higher mean value of soc in Kolkata (2.06%) than in the Sundarbans (1.25%). The significant spatial variation in soc between Kolkata and the Sundarbans (p < 0.05) may be attributed to anthropogenic stress, which is of greater magnitude in the city of Kolkata. The significant spatial variation in soc between north and south Kolkata (p < 0.05) is due to the efficiency of the drainage system in the north and the magnitude of city limit expansion in the south. In the Sundarban deltaic complex, a natural phenomenon like erosion seems to be a determining factor in the domain of soil carbon dynamics. soc analyses of all major metropolises around the world, of which Kolkata is one, are essential to understand the carbon sequestration potential of urban soils.
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Dominant gastropods of Indian Sundarbans: A major sink of carbon
2014Co-Authors: B. Nayak, Sufia Zaman, S. Devi Gadi, A. Kumar Raha, Abhijit MitraAbstract:The mangrove dominated Indian Sundarbans are rich bed for several species of gastropods. These gastropods are the store house of carbon as evidenced from the concentrations of total carbon (% dry weight) in their soft tissues and shells. The present study reveals significant spatial differences of stored carbon in selected gastropod species in Indian Sundarbans, which might be due to carbon derived from their food like algal mat, litter and detritus of mangroves that is more in the eastern sector of Indian Sundarbans compared to the central and western sectors. The stored carbon also exhibited species-wise variation and the order is Cerithedia obtusa> Nerita articulata> Telescopium telescopium> Cerithedia cingulata irrespective of locations.
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influence of anthropogenic and natural factors on the mangrove soil of indian Sundarbans wetland
2012Co-Authors: Kakoli Banerjee, Kasturi Sengupta, Mahua Roy Chowdhury, Saurov Sett, Abhijit MitraAbstract:Soil organic carbon, pH and salinity were monitored in mangrove ecosystem of Indian Sundarbans in five successive years (2006–2010). Samplings were carried out at 14 stations in four different depths (0.01-0.10, 0.10-0.20, 0.20-0.30 and 0.30-0.40 m) during premonsoon period. High organic carbon load is observed in the stations of western Indian Sundarbans (mean = 1.02 Wt %) which are near to the highly urbanized city of Kolkata. The central and eastern sectors under the protected forest area show comparatively less soil organic carbon (mean = 0.64 Wt %). A unique spatial variability in soil salinity and pH was observed with lower values in the western and eastern sectors compared to central sector. Soil pH exhibited a lower value (7.47 0.071) in reserve forest zone (central and eastern sectors) compared to western sector (7.57 0.067). The soil salinity increased with depth, while organic carbon and pH decreased with depth in all the stations. The paper depicts the increase of soil organic carbon and pH due to anthropogenic activities in western Indian Sundarbans, which if continued may decrease the potential of Sundarban soil as carbon sink and make the soil highly saline. Hence curbing of anthropogenic activities may keep the soil characteristics ecologically safe.
John L Herbohn - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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combined effects of climate change and sea level rise project dramatic habitat loss of the globally endangered bengal tiger in the bangladesh Sundarbans
Science of The Total Environment, 2019Co-Authors: Sharif Ahmed Mukul, Mohammed Alamgir, Md Shawkat Islam Sohel, Petina L Pert, John L HerbohnAbstract:The Sundarbans, in southern coastal Bangladesh, is the world's largest surviving mangrove habitat and the last stronghold of tiger adapted to living in a mangrove ecosystem. Using MaxEnt (maximum entropy modeling), current distribution data, land-use/land cover and bioclimatic variables, we modeled the likely future distribution of the globally endangered Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. We used two climatic scenarios (i.e., RCP6.0 and RCP8.5) developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide projections of suitable habitats of Bengal tigers in 2050 and 2070. We also combined projected sea-level rise for the area in our models of future species distributions. Our results suggest that there will be a dramatic decline in suitable Bengal tiger habitats in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Other than various aspects of local climate, sea-level rise is projected to have a substantial negative impact on Bengal tiger habitats in this low-lying area. Our model predicts that due to the combined effect of climate change and sea-level rise, there will be no suitable Bengal tiger habitat remaining in the Sundarbans by 2070. Enhancing terrestrial protected area coverage, regular monitoring, law enforcement, awareness-building among local residents among the key strategies needed to ensure long-term survival and conservation of the Bengal tiger in the Bangladesh Sundarbans.
