INTRODUCTION The Sundarbans mangrove forest stretches over two countries – Bangladesh and India. The Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans (62% of the Sundarbans) lies between 89°00´– 89°55´ E and 21°30´–22°30´ N (Figure 1). It covers about 6,017 km 2 and represents a unique ecosystem (Canonizado and Hossain 1998), containing the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). Considering the conservational value of the Sundarbans UNESCO has declared part of the forest (1,397 sq km) a World Heritage Site in 1997 (WCMC 2001). This forest is economically also very important. It constitutes about 51% of the Reserved Forest estates in the country and earns about 41 % of the forest revenue. It contributes about 45% of the total timber and fuel wood produced from the public forests (FAO 1998). In addition, diversified non-wood forest products are also exploited from the Sundarbans. Approximately 1 million people earn their livelihood from the forest (Anon 2001a). As a shelterbelt, it protects the south-west part of the country against cyclonic storms and tidal surges. The forest also protects agricultural land in the coast against salt intrusion from the sea (ADB 1998). The forest is one of the oldest systematically managed mangroves in the world (FAO 1994). Evidence suggest that the ecosystem is under stress and showing signs of depletion (Das and Siddiqi 1985; ADB 1998). It is considered that the present management system is inadequate. This paper attempts to briefly describe the Sundarbans forest ecosystem, evidence of forest degradation, the past and present management system of the forest and finally to identify the challenges and future management strategies in the Sundarbans. Degeneration of Bangladesh’s Sundarbans mangroves: a management issue M.S. IFTEKHAR 1 and M.R. ISLAM 2 1 Research Officer, Program Development Office – Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan Project, 5th Floor, Saimon Centre, Road 22, House 4/A, Gulshan –1, Dhaka – 1212; Bangladesh 2 Team Leader, Program Development Office – Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan Project, 5th Floor, Saimon Centre, Road 22, House 4/A, Gulshan –1, Dhaka – 1212, Bangladesh Email: mdsayediftekhar@yahoo.com SUMMARY The Sundarbans is a unique mangrove ecosystem of considerable ecological and economic value. The Sundarbans has supplied products and services to mankind for centuries and has been under systematic management for more than 100 years. The forest is now showing signs of degradation. Forest cover, species diversity and ecosystem function have declined, even though several forest policies, laws and management plans have been enacted to protect the forest. The effectiveness of these policies and plans is limited by the poor implementation capacity. Management inadequacies and alternatives that may help to conserve the Sundarbans are discussed. Keywords: Bangladesh, Sundarbans, forest policy, integrated natural resource management, mangrove degradation FIGURE 1 Map of Bangladesh showing the location of Sundarbans forest in the coastal zone International Forestry Review 6(2), 2004 123