India is considering setting up a joint forum with Bangladesh for protecting the ecosystem of the Sundarbans and dealing with issues related to its eco-management.

New Delhi- India’s ministry of Environment and Forests is negotiating an integrated coastal zone management project worth USD $ 200 million with the World Bank, of which $ 50 million will be allocated for the world’s largest mangrove forests in the estuarine islands of the Sunderbans, that lies between India and Bangaldesh and which is also home for the famed Bengal tigers.

Federal Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh said in Kolkata on Wednesday that the funds, to be utilised over a 5-year period, will be employed in projects relating to eco tourism, coastal erosion protection, improvement of the livelihood of the people who live in the fringe areas of the forests, construction of cyclone shelters, electrification projects and building capacity of universities and institute that provide technical support.

The project is expected to come through by June this year, he said adding that the Sunderban Development Board will be responsible for the control and management of these funds, the Hindu newspaper quoted him as saying.

The decision to set up an Indo-Bangla Sunderban Ecosystem Forum, which would bring together people working in conservation of the Sunderbans from India and Bangladesh was announced by Ramesh after his visit to the islands on Tuesday.

?Bangladesh has been very keen to work with us in the past, but there has been little interest from our side. It would be very beneficial if, for example, we work together in conducting a tiger census,? the newspaper said.

The Sunderbans is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.

The forest lies at the feet of the River Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The seasonally-flooded Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests. The forest covers 10,000 kms. of which about 6,000 are in Bangladesh.

The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. It is estimated that there are now 500 Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area.

The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the eco-region has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining.

The remaining forests, together with the Sunderbans mangroves, are important habitat for the endangered tiger. Additionally, the area serves a crucial function as a protective flood barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Kolkata (Calcutta) against the result of cyclone activity.

Nearly 60 percent of the Sundarbans lies in Bangladesh. Its protection is crucial for both the countries to fight climate change.

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