As per UNESCO’s assessment of World Heritage Forests, released in October 2021, Sunderbans National Park in India is among the five sites that have the highest blue carbon stocks globally. Blue Carbon refers to capture of Carbon by World’s Ocean and Coastal Ecosystems.
What are World Heritage Forests?
World heritage forests are biodiversity rich ecosystems with a combined area of 69 million hectares, spread across 257 World Heritage sites across the world.
World Heritage forests were collectively strong carbon sinks between 2001 and 2020, with net absorption of approximately 190 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere each year.
Sundarbans National Park: UNESCO World Heritage Site
Sundarbans National Park is located in West Bengal. The Sunderbans constitute contiguous areas of Mangrove Ecosystem spread across India and Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. It is formed on the delta of Padma, Meghna and Brahamaputra rivers.
It is famous for Sundari Tree, which is a mangrove species. It is also known for The Royal Bengal Tiger.
It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
