Unseen Passage 1: Environmental Awareness & Sundarbans Conservation | WBBSE Class 9 English

The Sundarbans, the largest contiguous mangrove delta on the planet, stretching across southern West Bengal and Bangladesh, is facing an existential environmental crisis. Formed by the confluence of the mighty Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers, this UNESCO World Heritage Site acts as a natural protective bio-shield for the populous city of Kolkata and the coastal hinterlands against violent cyclonic storms generated in the Bay of Bengal. Home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger, estuarine crocodiles, and rare mangrove flora like the Sundari trees, this delicate ecosystem is now severely beleaguered by climate change and anthropogenic intrusions.

Recent ecological studies reveal that the sea levels in the Sundarbans are rising at nearly double the global average rate of 3.2 millimetres per year. Accelerating thermal expansion of seawater and glacial melting have precipitated rampant coastal erosion, submerging several populated islands such as Lohachara and Bedford under turbulent waves. Frequent super-cyclones, such as Amphan, Yaas, and Remal, have repeatedly breached earthen river embankments, inundating vast stretches of fertile paddy fields with saline seawater. This widespread salinity intrusion has rendered hundreds of hectares of once-arable soil completely barren, depriving local agrarian families of their traditional livelihoods.

Compounding the climate peril is the pervasive menace of non-biodegradable plastic debris left behind by unregulated mass tourism. Plastic wrappings and discarded bottles choke vital tidal creeks, smothering the pneumatophores—or specialized breathing roots—of mangrove vegetation. Recognizing the gravity of this impending disaster, community-led afforestation campaigns have been galvanized across the delta. School students, self-help groups, and local women’s cooperatives are actively planting mangrove saplings along vulnerable riverbanks. Environmental scientists emphasize that without strict restrictions on single-use plastics, scientific embankment reinforcement, and international carbon emission curbs, the guardian shield of Bengal will be irreparably lost.