News has reached us via our Friend Bittu Sihgal of a wonderful five day festival that recently took place in India, which aimed to raise support for Tiger conservation and highlight the benefits of this work when attempting to mitigate climate change. Over 15,000 people took part in the “Walk for the Tigers” – which combined students, teachers, NGO workers, officials and foresters, bringing together all the people of the twelve villages that surround the Sundarban Tiger Reserve.
Sundarbans in West Bengal is the estuarine phase of the Ganges as well as the Brahmaputra river systems. This littoral forest is the only ecological habitat of the tiger of its kind in India. The typical littoral forests of Sundarbans comprise a host of tree species adapted to the particular estuarine condition of high salinity, lack of soil erosion and daily inundation by high tides. The tidal forms and the mangrove vegetation in Sundarban are responsible for a dynamic eco-system cycling both terrestrial and aquatic nutrients. The whole eco-system is sensitive to changes in salinity and the continuous cycle of erosion and deposition is affecting the plant communities giving rise to dynamic floristic changes. The plant communities are continuously adjusting to the new conditions.
Sundarbans mangrove is the home of a number of endangered and globally threatened species. The Bengal Tiger and the fishing cat are getting effective protection here. The creeks of Sundarbans form the home of Estuarine Crocodile, Salvator Lizard (Water Monitor), River Terrapin and Horse Shoe or King Crab. This area serves as the nesting ground for endangered marine turtles like Olive Ridley, Green Turtle and Hawk’s Bill Turtles. The aquatic endangered mammals like Genetic Dolphins thrive within mangrove creeks close to sea. Number of heronries form here during monsoon as well as during winter. It is home for Trans-Himalayan migratory birds.
One of the highlights of the festival was the display of dance provided by the Odissi dancers. We present a number of images of their dancing below:
For further information on Project Tiger and the Sundarbans visit their website: