Three years for the Sundarbans to recover from Bulbul

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Shanchita Shitu
Published : 02:00, Nov 20, 2019 | Updated : 02:00, Nov 20, 2019

File photo of a canal in the Sundarbans. Syed Zakir HossainThe Sundarbans has faced irreparable damage due to cyclone Bulbul and its recovery will take at least three years.
Specialists say that in addition to safeguarding the forest, cutting of trees needs to be stopped.
Climate specialist Ainun Nishat, observes: “Since the forest and the cyclone are both natures made, the recovery will also follow a natural path; we have to ensure that uprooted trees are not moved because, from them, new trees will grow. Removing such trees will severely affect the ecosystem of the forest.”
'Around 5,000 trees were damaged by Bulbul and about a year will be needed for the damage to be repaired; to get larger trees, we need to wait longer,' he said.
Forest conserver of Khulna, Md Moinuddin Khan, said: “This time, 4,489 trees were affected and, of them, 587 are from east Sundarbans and 3,900 under the forest department. Of the affected trees, most are Geoya Goran and Sundari.”
“Most of the trees uprooted are small or of medium height; there’s no chance of planting new trees because they won’t stay. They will grow naturally and, we hope, within the next five years the damage will be restored.”
Forest official of Sundarbans forest department (west) Bashirul Al Mamun adds: “The damage is insignificant compared to the destruction wreaked by cyclone SIDR and we hope for a natural recovery in two to three years.”
The Sundarbans is punctuated with swamplands, canals, islets, and a variety of animals. Storms also affect wildlife but the forest has its own regeneration system.
Meteorologist Arif Hossain, says: “We are not expecting any calamities in November and December.”

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