An impenetrable, semi-submerged labyrinth of branches, roots and trees, that extends for a good 19,000 km2, the equivalent of the entire Puglia region in Italy: welcome to the #Sundarbans, the largest #mangrove #forest on the planet and the kingdom of the Bengal Tiger.
Today, we’re celebrating the International Day of Forests by taking you to the Sundarbans, an enormous delta formed of a dense mosaic of sandy islets, where two of the region's largest rivers (the Ganga and Brahmaputra) meet and flow into the Pacific Ocean. It is a fascinating and mysterious place that has inspired the minds of many writers, including Emilio Salgari, who staged some of Sandokan's adventures here. But this area is now in danger, threatened primarily by climate change and an increase in storms and cyclones. The once dominant mangrove species, locally known as ‘Sundari’, from which the region takes its name, has now almost completely disappeared due to rising water salinity and deforestation. Straddling India and Pakistan, and despite being legally protected, the forest is shrinking every year; the small population of Bengal tigers, which is estimated at around 700, is also at risk.
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