Sunderbans out of wonders race

Sunderbans, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is the single largest block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest. It was recently voted out of the provisional list of the ‘New Seven Wonders of Nature’, writes Pradipta Tapadar 

With Sunderbans voted out of the race for the ‘New Seven Wonders of Nature’, tourism industry insiders say the world’s single largest block of mangrove forests may have lost a golden opportunity to become a global destination for wildlife tourism.

Sunderbans is home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger

Sunderbans, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is the single largest block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest shared by India (West Bengal) and Bangladesh. Nearly 60 per cent of it is with Bangladesh and the rest with India.

It was voted out of the provisional list of the ‘New Seven Wonders of Nature’ based on the first count of vote results last month. This has led to frustration among the people of West Bengal, including travel agents who say it would have helped Sunderbans push up its tourist numbers way beyond the current 1,50,000.

The New7Wonders of Nature was a project undertaken by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber to make a list of seven natural wonders selected by people across the world through a worldwide poll.

The criterion was that the site was to be "a clearly defined natural site or natural monument" that was not created or significantly altered by humans for aesthetic reasons.

The initiative was started in 2007 and attracted 100 million votes from around the world.

Sunderbans was the only Indian entry in the final list of 28 that included the Grand Canyon of the US, the Amazon of Brazil, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, the Halong Bay of Vietnam and other natural sites.

Sunderbans is home to a number of rare species of birds and animals, including the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger.

Sunderbans is the single largest block of tidal mangrove forest

It is also believed that selection of Sunderbans would have triggered the flow of foreign funds in West Bengal, which would have in turn helped the state in better wildlife conservation and unlocking new windows for eco-tourism.

Sunderbans, with its wild beauty, Royal Bengal Tigers and winding boat rides, attracts a large number of tourists throughout the year, especially in October-November.

The main tourism hotspots of Sunderbans are the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve — the home of Royal Bengal Tigers; Sunderbans National Park — sanctuary to spotted deer, white bellied eagles, kingfisher; Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project — hatchery and home to the biggest estuarine crocodiles; and Halliday Island — sanctuary of the barking deer. — IANS

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