The Sunderbans Forest Reserve represents the biggest stand of the mangroves Bangladesh, and it is located in the south-eastern part of the delta region around Khulna. Other important stands are located in the district of Chittagong, in the south-east part of the country.
The predominant tree species are sundri (Heritiera minor) and gewa (Excoecaria agallocha). Less frequent species are passur (Xylocarpus moluccensis var. gangetica syn Carapa moluccensis var.gangetica), goran (Ceriops roxburghiana), kankra (Bruguiera gymnorhiza), keora (Sonneratia apetala) and baen (Avicennia officinalis). This closed forest has a dense canopy, and the trees can reach a maximum height of 25 to 30 m, although they are usually 8 to 15 m high. Tree diameters range from 10 to 20 cm although 45 cm can be reached under favourable conditions.
FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resourcess Assesment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Asia. FAO, UNEP, 475 pp.
Year |
Area |
Source |
Trend |
Methodology/Comments |
1959 |
407 000 |
Ray, R.G. 1971. Six forest inventories in the Tropics. No. 3&4. Pakistan. In collaboration with Canadian International Development Agency. Ottawa. |
Cited in: FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resourcess Assesment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Asia. FAO, UNEP, 475 pp. Interpretation of aerial photos. | |
1978 |
400 000 |
Department of Forests. 1978. Country report for the Eight World Forestry Congress 1978. Jakarta, Indonesia Oct. 16-28, 1978 – Dacca. |
Cited in: FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resourcess Assesment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Asia. FAO, UNEP, 475 pp. This figure refers to the extent of mangroves in the Sundarbans. | |
1978 |
600 000 |
FAO. 1978. Country report on Forestry Communities Practising Shifting Cultivation in Bangladesh UNFPA/FAO project - Bangkok |
X |
Cited in: FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resourcess Assesment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Asia. FAO, UNEP, 475 pp. |
1979 |
405 000 |
FAO. 1979. Draft project terminal report of project BGD/72/005. By White, K.J. Chittagong. |
Cited in: FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resourcess Assesment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Asia. FAO, UNEP, 475 pp. | |
1981 |
576 700 |
Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D., eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp. |
X |
Map analysis. 1:500 000. The alternative estimate provided in the document is Siddiqi, 1995 (see below) |
1982 |
625 374 |
Habib, M.G. 1982. Improvements of Sundarbans by enrichment plantation. In: Proceedings of the Second Bangladesh National Conference on forestry, Dhaka. p 150-155. |
X |
Cited in: Rahman, L.M. 1986. Monograph on Mangrove Forest. Asia Pakistan Forest Inst., Forest Education Div., Thesis (M.Sc.), University of Peshawar (Pakistan) 176 pp. The "Year" is the publication year. |
1983 |
410 000 |
Wacharakitty, S. 1983. Mangrove Ecosystem in General. In: ESCAP/UNESCO/NRCT Regional Remote Sensing Training Course of Mangrove Ecosystem. p. 22-33. Bangkok, Nov. 28-Dec. 16 1983 |
Cited in: FAO. 1994. Mangrove forest management guidelines. FAO Forestry Paper 117. Rome, 319 pp. The figure probably refers to the mangroves of the Sundarbans. | |
1984 |
417 013 |
Hamilton, L.S. and Snedaker, S.C., eds. Handbook for Mangrove Area Management. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. UNESCO Paris & East-West Center, Hawaii; 123 pp |
Secondary reference, no primary source provided. This figure could refer to the Sundarbans | |
1985 |
395 600 |
Anonymous. 2000. Mangrove Conservation and Development: Bangladesh Country Profile |
Secondary reference, no primary source provided. | |
1986 |
587 380 |
Mahmood. N. 1986. Effects of shrimp farming and other impacts on mangroves of Bangladesh. Paper presented at the Third Session of IPFC Workshop on Inland Fish/Mangrove, 22–25 June, Bangkok, Thailand. |
X |
Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year. |
1991 |
671 779 |
Forest Department. 1991. Development of Forest Resources in Bangladesh. |
No definition of methodology provided. The “Year” is the publication year. | |
1993 |
710 000 |
Khatun, Fahmida, Akter. 1998. Depreciation of forest Resources in Bangladesh. Research Rep.No. 157 - Bangladesh Institute Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. Dhaka, Bangladesh. |
Secondary reference, no primary source provided. | |
1995 |
634 300 |
Siddiqi. 1995. Personal communication |
Cited in: Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D., eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp. | |
1996 |
622 482 |
Ibid. |
X |
Combined national level mangrove estimate based on the following remote sensing studies: The Sundarbans: Revilla, Ahmand, Hussain. 1998. Final Report: Forest inventory of the Sunderbans Reserved Forest. (Ref. Year: 1996). Cox's Bazar: Revilla, Ahmand, Hussain. 1998. Forest Inventory of the Natural Forest and Forest Plantations (Ref. Year: 1996) Chittagong, Patuakhali, Barisal, Noakhali: Revilla, Ahmand, Hussain, 1998. Forest Inventory of the Coastal Afforestation Divisions. (Ref. Year: 1996) The reference year is the area weighted average. |
2000 |
630 000 |
Aizpuru, M., Achard, F., and Blasco, F. 2000. Global Assessment of Cover Change of the Mangrove Forests using satellite imagery at medium to high resolution. In EEC Research project n 15017-1999-05 FIED ISP FR – Joint Research center, Ispra. |
National level estimate based on extrapolation from an India/Bangladesh remote sensing case studies in The Mouth of the Ganges (The Sundabarns) and literature review. |