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Download PDF The broken trees left behind by Cyclone Sidr in the Sundarbans must not be removed, as those create the bio-mass necessary for speedy regeneration of the world’s largest mangrove forest, said Dr Ali Reza Khan, an eminent forest and wildlife expert.
Following a visit to the Sundarbans, Dr Reza, the head of Dubai Zoo, told The Daily Star yesterday in an interview, “Let the forest be as it is. If the broken trees are taken away to a higher ground, it will be a loss.”
“Nature will take its own decision about those,” he said adding, “We should wait and see.”
He said some species have already started regenerating themselves. “I have seen new buds and saplings of many trees.”
If the forest department officials want to plant trees, the whole Sundarbans will flower in the summer, they can collect seeds, make saplings, and plant them then, he suggested.
“But they should not plant alien species in the Sundarbans, it is very important,” Dr Reza warned.
According to him, the damage in the Sundarbans has been patchy and peripheral.
“The damage has basically been a superficial one, not a complete destruction,” he added saying if the forest is left the way it is, it will make a recovery by itself.
“The Sundarbans is not a matured forest, rather a transitional one,” said Dr Reza.
“From the very beginning the character of it has been changing. Now we have to make sure that we are not disturbing it,” he went on.
When asked about the loss of wildlife, he said mostly smaller animals and insects including amphibians and reptiles were swept away, a loss which is not that visible.
“We don’t know how many insects including hoppers, beetles, and spiders we have lost,” he said.
“Those are parts of the ecosystem and we have yet to know the exact roles they are playing in the system. It will take time to recover them,” he said.
“They were parts of the food chain also for many birds and animals. It has been a real loss,” he added.
About tourism and permissions to collect nypah and goran trees from the forest, he said tourists should be encouraged to visit the forest as it will rejuvenate the local economy.
“And if we want to stop income generation from the forest for the local communities, they have to be subsidised,” said Dr Reza.
He also said the government should launch a long-term research on the Sundarbans as it is a unique forest in the whole world.
“The government should give the highest priority to this forest,” he emphasised.
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