Between India and Bangladesh, the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest covers around 10,000 km. In the forest and the surrounding area, approximately 4.5 million people live on the India side and 7.5 million people live on the Bangladesh side. Beyond providing livelihoods for these people, the mangroves also act as a buffer between devastating cyclones and the interior land. Mangroves absorb a large portion of a storm’s energy and greatly decreases the rate of coastal erosion due to its dense root system. Both India and Bangladesh have a long history of conservation attempts that will be discussed in the next two sections.
