The West Bengal government has asked the Centre to raise the issue of threat to the Sundarbans, one of the three most-threatened deltas in the world, at the Copenhagen Summit on climate change next month.

“Keeping in mind the forthcoming Copenhagen Summit, I hope its outcome must be based on consensus, cooperation and principal of equity. In this perspective, I wish to raise the issue of the Sundarbans before you for consideration,” state Environment Minister Sailen Sarkar wote a letter to his Union Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh.

“While the world’s attention is directed to the vulnerability of Los Angeles and Maldives, the Sundarbans is gradually sinking into oblivion,” he wrote.

Sarkar stated the vulnerability of sea-facing inhabited islands in the mangrove needed to be evaluated, besides construction of bridges to provide for evacuation.

Also needed was conservation of plants tolerant to higher salinity and construction of a sea-wall using advanced technology as was done by nations like Netherlands, he wrote.

“This beautiful mega delta of the Sundarbans, described as one of the three most threatened deltas on Earth by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its fourth assessment report, is doomed to disappear because of anthropogenic climate change,” he added.

It has been observed that there was heightened cyclonic activities, increase in tidal amplitude and accelerated erosion leading to disappearance of certain islands like Ghoramara, besides frequent breaches of river embankments, Sarkar stated.

Increasing salinisation was also leading to diminished agricultural production, he added.

“More importantly this is the home to 43 lakh Indians who inhabit 52 non-forest islands,” the minister added. He pointed out that the Sundarbans was a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a biosphere reserve, the biggest mangrove tiger habitat and comprised 104 odd islands covering an area of 3,500 sq km.

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