The Resolution & Vibes of “The Sundarbans Day”…🍀🌳

“The Sundarbans Day” is one of the most significant days of our Bangladesh. This day is celebrated annually on 14th February. The main motive and spirit of this day is to widen the horizon of mass awareness regarding the significances of protecting and preserving the ecological balance of our environment, especially of the Sundarbans.
As we know, the Sundarbans is located on the delta formed by the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers along the Bay of Bengal. Roughly 60% of the forest lies in Bangladesh, with the remaining 40% in India. It is the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest. On top of that, it has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 6th December, 1997, renowned for its biodiversity, including the Royal Bengal Tiger.
The Sundarbans is one of the greatest and the most beautiful blessings of nature for our country. This mangrove forest is ornated with plants, animals and many other organisms of different species, ultimately adding to its diversity. Various plants such as, Sundari (Heritiera fomes), Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha), Goran (Ceriops decandra), Keora (Sonneratia apetala), and Passur (Xylocarpus mekongensis), along with Nypa palm (Golpata) and Hental (Phoenix paludosa) grow in the soil of Sundarbans. In addition, many species of animals and organisms, for instance, rhesus monkeys, saltwater crocodiles, Ganges river dolphins, and various fish species live here. It also supports 49 mammal species, over 300 bird species, and different kinds of reptiles. However, the most notable ones are the spotted deer (Chittra Horin) and the Royal Bengal Tiger, our national animal. Other animals include, fishing cat, wild boar, asian small-clawed otter, civet, terrapin, lizards, snakes, turtles, dolphins, porpoises, shushuks, ghorials, sharks, crabs, eagles, vultures, kites, ospreys, kingfishers of diverse breeds, etc.
The Sundarbans not only add up to the beauty and greeneries of our country but also protect us from the natural adversities, for example, tropical cyclones, coastal erosions, river, land, soil erosions, desertification, acidification, rapid increase of salinity in our water bodies, droughts, floods and many more. Furthermore, this forest contributes to support, protect from the collapse and destruction of our overall livelihood and preserve the ecological balance, immense biodiversity, climate change mitigation through sequestering significant carbon, lastly providing indispensable ecological and economic value and much more.
Despite all these, the Sundarbans are in great danger at present. Almost every year, it loses a large amount of its area due to the natural catastrophes. In addition, some people often illegally steal wood, timber, homeywax and other essential natural assets and resources from this forest for their own selfish needs. Moreover, a lot of species of animals, including vultures, shushuks, rhinos and even the Royal Bengal Tigers are endangered right now. These animals, birds and other organisms are currently losing their habitat and are on the verge of extinction.
That’s why, on 14th February 2001, the first National Sundarbans Conference was held in Khulna. The conference resolved to observe February 14 as Sundarbans Day and urged the government to recognize it nationally. Since then, the Sundarbans Day is observed all over our country to make people conscious of the unavoidable significance of the Sundarbans and this occasion, the dire consequences of neglecting it, and how we can work all these out together. Every year, on this day, rallies, seminars, leaflets, workshops, various activities, community & environmental advocacy, symbolic acts, numerous educational competitions and awareness campaigns focused on protecting the world’s largest mangrove forest from climate change, pollution, and degradation are featured by many clubs, organisations, universities, local groups, mass and social media. For 2026, events include the “Sundarbans Summit” (April 23-25) to foster community-driven conservation of this beautiful and valuable mangrove forest. These necessary arrangements also serve to let people know that, harmful acts like deforestation, encroachment, pollution, poaching, illegally hunting and harming creatures, stealing and smuggling wood, timbers, homeywax and other natural treasures from this forest must be strictly prohibited. Severe and effective enforcements must be rectified, renewed, ammended and adapted by the law for such vile criminals. Illegal selling off of exotic species of creatures in markets must be banned. In crucial cases, tourisms must be sternly controlled, monitored and all the other actions must be patrolled and well-checked when required. Overall, the authorities must initiate effective measures to take care of all the creatures and vegetations in the forest with utmost honesty, transparency, accountability, responsibility, sincerity and genuine passion and eagerness.
To conclude, these events aim to strengthen the protection of the forest, which serves as a vital shield against natural disasters for the region. The morale of this day is one of the prime factors of promoting and enhancing our love, duties and responsibilities we owe to our dear Sundarbans. Hence, let’s not limit this day only upto its commemorations. Let’s actually make a proper, smart and helpful utilization of our unmoved spirit, perseverance, patience, consistency, motivation and determination, which this day brings into our lives along with itself, for a more successful, more beautiful, smarter, greener, happier and better Bangladesh.