The Sundarban Tiger Reserve Hosted the Fourth MFF Regional Steering Committee Meeting

MFF’s Regional Steering Committee meets twice a year. This is where MFF’s overall future direction is steered and important decisions are taken. The Steering Committee comprises of two co-chairs Aban Marker Kabraji, IUCN and Nicholas Rosellini, UNDP, the NCB chair from each focal country and representatives from dialogue countries and the respective MFF institutional partners, as well as the MFF Secretariat. The Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) provided a unique opportunity to hold the fourth regional steering committee onboard a ship and to visit the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve.

The Sundarbans is the largest single mangrove area in the world and is known for its spectacular species diversity home to many rare animals such as crocodiles, Olive Ridley turtle, and the famous Royal Bengal tiger. Mangrove forests are extremely productive coastal ecosystems with a wide range of goods (such as Honey collecting, timber, fuelwood, crabs, fish) and environmental regulating and cultural services (preventing erosion and negative impacts from extreme weather events). Efforts to protect this remarkable mangrove forest date back to the 19th century and visitors are coming from all over the world to visit the Sundarbans.

“The Sundarbans is the single largest single mangrove forest in the world with 80 percent of the global mangrove floral diversity. MFF simply would not be complete without the Sundarbans... Bringing the MFF to have a first hand experience with the Sundarbans, illustrating the beauty and the challenges face in conserving the Sundarbans allowed for an opportunity for the forest department to show how India has successfully dealt with these challenges to the rest of the world.. “, says N.C. Bahuguna, Chief Conservator and Director, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve.