The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any state, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Bay of Bengal and Sundarbans
Proportion of the area of the contribution comprising Key Biodiversity Areas: 6.6%
The world's largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, straddles the tidal interface between land and sea in the northern Bay of Bengal. Home to two species of freshwater dolphins, tigers, and many other globally threatened wildlife, the ecosystem is under pressure from human activities and environmental changes. WCS’s research enabled the declaration of three Wildlife Sanctuaries for Freshwater Dolphins. WCS supports SMART enforcement and monitoring patrols that aim to help protect this World Heritage Site. Marine biodiversity is vital to Bangladesh's food security and economy. Overfishing threatens coastal fisheries and fishing livelihoods, with entangling fishing gears endangering cetaceans, sharks, rays, and turtles. WCS is working with citizen scientists from coastal communities to collect essential information to inform conservation management and improve at-sea safety.
Potential conservation benefits in saving biodiversity
Potential reduction of species extinction risk resulting from threat abatement actions
The chart below represents the relative disaggregation of the selected contribution's total potential opportunity for reducing global species extinction risk through taking actions to abate different threats to species within its boundaries. The percentages refer to the amount of the total opportunity that could potentially be achieved through abating that particular threat.