Protecting the Sundarbans

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. In coastal areas, deadly cyclones accompanied with tidal surges are a regular phenomenon. Every time, a powerful cyclone hits the country, the Sundarbans appears as our saviour by taking the first blows of these natural calamities. The world's largest mangrove forest acts like a natural shield against cyclones, tornados and tidal surges. The mangroves do not just help reduce the wind speed drastically when the storm moves through the delta but even help break the waves and the storm surge triggered along with it.

The forest holds numerous benefits for our ecosystem and coastal population. But human activities have put the forest in danger. A number of dangerous private and public projects have been undertaken with some them already running on around the Sundarbans, a world heritage site. If all the projects are implemented, the forest will lose its iconic form.

We must ensure that we are protecting our natural environment before planning any developing projects. Apart from protecting the Sundarbans from the clutch of our greed, we must plant more and more trees to make our country liveable for our next generation.

Mohammad Nader Hossain Bhuiyan,

Student, Department of Management,

Feni Government College, Feni,

hnaderhossain@gmail.com