All is not well in the water front

Photos

A fisherman in Sundarbans

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uploaded by L i n g a r a j

The picture was taken near Sagar in Sunderbans, West Bengal. Sunderbans is an archipelago traversed by countless creeks, streams and rivers, consisting of the largest mangrove forest in the world. The area lies southeast of the city of Kolkata in the 24 Parganas District of West Bengal and is a part of the Gangetic Delta. It is shared between two neighboring countries, Bangladesh and India. It is perhaps the only place on earth that is threatened at once by cyclones, tidal waves, lack of fresh water, tigers, crocodiles and poisonous snakes. This coupled with the socio economic dynamics of the region gives it a very unique 

IPCC predicts that by the end this century the sea level could rise by 0.8 meters. This has catastrophic implications to these two regions and beyond. Studies predict that a 0.6m increase in sea level could submerge the entire Sunderban region. Few good men would sit in Copenhagen later this year to decide the future of many people. Their actions and inactions along with ours (Carbon intensive urbanites) have strong implications to many people including the people in Sunderbans who have, rising seas and hungry tides to face.