Sustainable shrimp cultivation provides hope for mangrove restoration in Sundarbans

Subject :Environment

Context:

A new initiative of sustainable shrimp cultivation provides hope for mangrove restoration in Sundarbans. There were concerns over unsustainable aquaculture, particularly shrimp collection, after cleaning large tracts of mangrove forests in Sunderbans.

Sustainable Aquaculture In Mangrove Ecosystem (SAIME):

Under the initiative, farmers have taken up cultivation of shrimp at 20 hectares at Chaital in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas, and 10 hectares at Madhabpur in adjoining South 24 Parganas.
The community-based initiative of sustainable shrimp cultivation is being conceived by NEWS and Global Nature Fund (GNF), Naturland Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS).
A research program on the contribution of mangrove leaf litter in the nutritional dynamics in SAIME ponds has been initiated in collaboration with the Centre for Excellence in Blue Economy (CoE-BE) of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata.

Shrimp cultivation in sundarbans:

The Sundarbans forest is about 10,000 sq. km across India and Bangladesh, of which 40% lies in India.
- The Sundarbans, a cluster of low-lying islands in the Bay of Bengal, spread across India and Bangladesh, is famous for its unique mangrove forests.
- It occupies a position of importance as a tourist spot for the scenic beauty it provides and for the famous and majestic “Royal Bengal Tiger”.
Fishing, particularly shrimp cultivation, is one of the key occupations of the people of Sundarbans, which is a complex network of rivers and low-lying islands that face a tide surge twice a day.
Shrimp cultivation is practised in about 15,000 to 20,000 hectares of the unique ecosystem in India.
They are also cultivating indigenous varieties of shrimps such as black tiger shrimp (P. monodon) and giant freshwater prawn (M. rosenbergii).

What is the Significance of the Sundarban Delta?

The Sundarbans hosts the largest mangrove forests in the world, lying on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
Mangrove ecosystem is a very specialised environment occurring in between the land and the sea in the tropical and subtropical regions.
Sundarban is the natural abode of many groups of animals and a large number of species are known to feed, breed and take shelter in this ecosystem.
It is home to many rare and globally threatened wildlife species such as the estuarine crocodile, water monitor lizard, Gangetic dolphin and olive ridley turtle.
Sundarban was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 (India) and 1997 (Bangladesh).
Sundarban Wetland, India was recognised as the ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in January 2019.