The Hindu Business Line : Tech lends a hand

It is an exercise that can go a long way in ensuring the sustained livelihood of 4.2 million island dwellers in the Sundarbans, most of whom belong to the below-the-poverty-line category. And software plays a significant role in it.

The Department of Marine Science of the University of Calcutta, along with the Nature Environment & Wildlife Society, a non-government organisation, has undertaken a project that involves gathering of data on various parameters and monitoring how they will affect the livelihood of people in the Sundarbans. Based on the findings, the study will also suggest whether the mangroves in the Sundarbans should be protected to ensure the sustained livelihood of the people there or whether they should shift to other marine-oriented sources of livelihood, such as oyster culture, sea-weed culture, etc.

The analysis is being done in collaboration with Prof Avijit Gangopadhyay, Associate Dean, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, US.

With the MICROSTAT software that is developed in the US, the study seeks to delve into issues such as why fish and other marine life are dwindling and why minute plants, such as phytoplankton, are vanishing with increasing salinity in the water.

The Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, designated as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, is spread over 9,630 sq.km. It is the only mangrove-surrounded, tiger-dominated area in the world. It is home to around 275 Royal Bengal Tigers. Of the 102 islands in the area, only 48 are inhabited.

Impact of global warming

With the impact of global warming being felt from the Himalayan glacier to the Polar ice caps, sea levels across the globe have been rising by around 2mm every year. In the east coast of Indian Sundarbans, they are rising by 2.8 mm a year. “If this continues at the current rate, villages along the coastline will be endangered and saline water will enter the croplands,” says Dr Abhijit Mitra, Reader in the Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, who is also actively associated with the project.

According to him, the various parameters on which the findings of the study would be based include monitoring the salinity of the water, its pH content (acid base balance), water temperature, turbidity and the level of dissolved oxygen in the water.

Besides collection of data gathered over the past 20 years, the exercise includes simultaneous field monitoring and testing for comparative study. “For example, the level of dissolved oxygen in the water is important for the survival of fish, which is the prime source of livelihood of the people in the Sundarbans.

Based on data of the past 27 years, it has been documented that the salinity of the water in the east coast of the Indian Sundarbans has gone up by 6.12 per cent, compared with the western sector, where the salinity of the water has decreased by 6.14 per cent, ” says Prof Mitra.

The study attempts to arrive at a time-series analysis of what can be expected in the next 50 years.

The findings of the study will, hopefully, throw light on how the marine and estuarine biodiversity in the Sundarbans has been affected over the years and what remedial measures need to be taken.

ambar_singhroy@rediffmail.com

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