The vanishing pharmacy of the Sundarbans
As rising seas push salt into the world's largest mangrove, traditional medicinal plants are being lost.
As rising seas push salt into the world's largest mangrove forest, traditional medicinal plants are being lost.
Koyra Upazila, Bangladesh – The Shakbaria river’s low tide has pulled the water back, exposing a wide, slippery mudbank between Suranjan Raptan and the edge of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest tidal mangrove forest.
For most of his life, Suranjan has relied on this forest as his pharmacy. He rises before the sun, crosses into the mangroves in a small boat and walks barefoot through the clay-mud jungle for hours, carrying a knife to cut the leaves, roots and bark he uses to make medicines.
Rising seas and repeated cyclones are pushing saltwater further into coastal ecosystems. Between 2017 and 2021, salinity in tidal water rose from 21 to 33 parts per thousand in the pre-monsoon season, while soil salinity increased by 31 percent.