Sidr and Sundarbans
Photo: STAR
These days most newspaper columns are replete with stories of the cyclone hit areas depicting peoples' struggle to put their lives together. Various agencies, particularly Bangladesh Forest Department, are already making an assessment of the damage to Sundarbans as a result of cyclone Sidr. Some experts voiced their opinions on the recovery strategies. Nonetheless, it is important that the ecological dynamics of Sundarbans be taken into consideration before putting any such strategy into action. The Sundarbans mangrove is an ecological playground of nature. Unlike plantations, processes such diurnal ebb-tide, episodic disturbance like the cyclone Sidr, have been shaping this magnificent forest over many centuries, if not thousands of years. Forest management including recovery activities, e.g., salvage- harvesting and cleaning of debris from the forest floor should, therefore, be in symphony with these processes, in order to maintain a sustainable ecosystem. Over time, Sundarbans will recover from the wounds of the cyclone.
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