International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

doi: 10.14355/ijrsa.2014.0402.04

http://www.ijrsa.org

Coastal Zone Mapping through Geospatial

Technology for Resource Management of
Indian Sundarban, West Bengal, India
Ismail Mondal1, Jatisankar Bandyopadhyay2
Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, Vidyasagar University Paschim Medinipur -721102.
Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, Vidyasagar University Paschim Medinipur-721102, West Bengal

1
2

ismailmondal58@gmail.com; 2jatiban@gmail.com

Received 16 January, 2014; Revised 20 March, 2014; Accepted 18 April, 2014; Published 27 June, 2014
2014 Science and Engineering Publishing Company

Abstract:
The West Bengal part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta,
popularly known as the Sundarban delta, is a system where
intricate estuarine and coastal processes are influenced by
adjacent marine, terrestrial and meteorological systems and
the dynamic interface amongst the three. Being the center of
population growth, coastal sea, ponds/wetlands, estuarine
islands in this area are to sustain the negative impact caused
by societys commercial, recreational, and residential
activities. Additionally, natural forcing like sea level rise or
climate change is a prime issue of concern for this vulnerable
tract. Presently, this deltaic system is facing degradation due
to natural and anthropogenic causes. Degradation of this
littoral tract is manifested in terms of frequent embankment
failures, submergence & flooding, beach erosion, siltation
within embankment, saline water intrusion in the
agricultural field etc. In the above perspective, viable coastal
zone management options are to be adopted based on
scientific approach retaining socio-economic use of the
coastal zone complying with preservation of resources and
nature values. Knowledge and understanding of coastal
morph dynamic behavior as well as middle to long-term
developments therein is essential in this respect. Lack of data
pertaining to this coast makes the task all the more difficult
than expected and restricts proper estimation of impacts to
be caused by the different coastal variables. The present
study is aimed at predicting evolution of Sundarbans estuary
located at the mouth of Bay of Bengal by a set of physical
mathematical model through extrapolation of observed
morphological behavior of erosion-accretion. The long term
goal of this study is to identify the coupling amongst the
coastal processes and mainly two dimensional evolutions
(shoreline change) of the form of deltaic island system of
West Bengal with special reference to sea level rise which in
turn is guided by climate change. This study is carried out so
that a greater degree of certainty can be achieved while

applying the output as a blue print for the coastal managers

and planners for this vulnerable niche. The coastal zone is
under heavy pressure from land-based activities located in
the catchment of rivers. Traditionally, both scientific research
and framework have treated catchments and coasts as
separate entities. However, it is increasingly recognized that
they should in fact be treated as an integrated whole,
encompassing both environmental and socio economic and
political systems.
Keywords:
RS & GIS; Coastal Resource and Habitats; Coastal Zone
Management

Introduction:
The coastal zone of world is under increasing stress
due to development of industries, trade and
commerce, tourism and resultant human population
growth and migration, and deteriorating water
quality. This region is of very high biological
productivity and thus an important component of the
global life system. Coastal ecosystems harbour wealth
of species and genetic diversity, store and cycle
nutrients, filter pollutants and help to protect
shorelines from erosion and storms. Marine
ecosystems play a vital role in regulating climate and
they are a major carbon sink and oxygen source. The
industrial development of coast has resulted in
degradation of coastal ecosystems and diminishing the
living resources of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in
form of coastal and marine biodiversity and
productivity. Episodic events, such as cyclones, floods,
pose serious threat to human life and property in the
coastal zone. Human activities also induce certain

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International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

changes or accelerate the process of change. Thus there

is an urgent need to conserve the coastal ecosystems
and habitats including individual plant species and
communities so, settlements, recreation, environment
and agriculture. In order to ensure sustainable
development, it is necessary to develop accurate, upto-date and comprehensive scientific databases on
habitats, protected areas, water quality, environmental
indicators and carry out periodic assessment of the
health of the system. The modern scientific
Application of Remote Sensing & GIS and GPS are
extremely valuable in development of databases and
to analyst them in the integrated manner and derive
management action plans. Availability of repetitive,
synoptic and multi-spectral data from various satellite
platforms, visa...viz. IRS, LANDSAT have helped to
generate information on varied aspects of the coastal
and marine environment. In India, satellite based
information has been used for generating inventory on
coastal Resource, habitats, landforms, coastal land use
and shoreline condition, condition assessment of
protected areas, exploration of marine fisheries,
mitigation of coastal disasters and understanding of
sediment dynamics. GIS has been used for the
integrating satellite based information for identifying
aquaculture
sites,
coastal
regulation
and
environmentally sensitive zones.

km of shore length of total coastal length 710 km.

FIG: 1: LOCATION MAP

Data Used:
Landsat ETM+ data of 28 February 2010 pertaining to
the study area were used and it was verified by
ground truthing.
Objective of the Study Area:
I.
II.

Socio-economic parameters:

III.

Integration analysis of both spatial and non

spatial data under GIS platform to generate
pragmatic data sets to provide possible
alignment for Sundarban Natural Resource
Management.

IV.

Socio-environmental analysis of the propose

alignment

Location and General Boundaries:

Indian Sundarbans has a shore length of 130 km out of
the total 180 km coastal length of West Bengal. The
location of Sundarbans of Indian part is between 21 to
22-65/ N and 87to 88-93/ E. Indian Sundarbans is
covering the area of south-eastern part of both NorthSouth 24 Parganas. Southeast extreme region of three
districts namely Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat
constitute the Bangladesh part of Sundarbans. The
actual location of Bangladesh Sundarbans is between
21to 31 N and between 89 to90 E. The entire Indian
Sundarbans covers an area of 9630sq.km out of total
area of 25500sq.km and the remaining part covers the
area of Bangladesh Sundarbans which are bounded
between estuaries of Rivers Hugli on the West to
Ichamati-Raimangal in the East, Bay of Bengal. In
comparison to 180 km coastal length of West Bengal,
India, the fertile coastal area Bangladesh is about 710
km and extends at the edge of the Bay of Bengal from
the South East to mouth of Raimangal River in the
South West. The luxuriant dense mangrove forest at
the Bangladesh part of Sundarbans covers about 230

104

Physical Parameters-

Methodology:

Preliminary planning and identification of

alternative and prioritization of available
Alternatives

Carrying out the required detailed field

surveys and investigations covering the
Landuse and Land Cover map, NDVI, Soil
Salinity, Temperature Map, and Land Surface
Water Index Map etc.

Detailed environmental management

(EMP) and relief and rehabilitation plan.

Social impact analysis covering the sociological

socio-economic impacts on people as well as
measures to mitigate adverse impacts and
ensure poverty alleviation etc.

plan

International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

Benefits are to be quantified under various

main items like irrigation, flood control,
drinking water supply, pisciculture, tourism,
etc

A detailed discussion on the need for the

bringing
social,
environmental
and
infrastructural benefits.

Land acquisition proposals vis--vis the

possibilities of reduction or avoidance in view
of likely impact on forest land, wetland, etc, in
the study area.

Assessing the Aggregate Impact of Resource use on key

natural ecosystem of Sundarban River Catchments:
Assessing the status of Sundarbans natural resources
and the health of its ecosystems is of paramount
importance for their wise use, development and
management. Benchmarks for the assessments of
catchments, rivers and estuaries are based on natural
conditions. These provide a basis for assessing
aggregate impact and change in condition. For many
extensively modified catchments, rivers and estuaries,
management targets need to be defined in the context
of trade-offs between natural condition, current
condition and the other values provided by using
these resources.
Sundarban Catchment Condition:
Catchment condition is ultimately a judgment that
depends on biophysical attributes in the context of
social and economic values. These value judgments
can be made at local to regional scales. This assessment
of catchment condition, defined in terms of land, water
and biota components, presents a way to make
comparative assessments of catchment Biophysical
condition. It provides an information input for
catchment management decisions. The assessment
uses an indicator approach and a geographic data
compilation system to define patterns of relative
biophysical condition. Priorities and opportunities for
protective or remedial catchment management from a
biophysical perspective can then be made.

individual indicators;

composite sub-indices for water, land

biota condition; and

an overall composite catchment condition

index

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inputs into rivers and streams, and changes to

catchment hydrology, particularly impoundments.
These attributes all relate to land use intensity. To
fulfill the objectives of this study, five types of
approaches have been attempted, such as
interpretation of multi-date optical Remote Sensing
data for detection and mapping of changes in coastal
Resource Management, environment in Coastal Landuse/Land cover, Coastal Salinity etc.
Result and Discussion:
Coastal Land Use and Land Cover Mapping:
The present land use in the area is mainly determined
by the depth and duration of seasonal flooding and the
availability of soil moisture in the dry season, the effect
of salinity, the topography and also by the local
agricultural practices. Depending on the depth of
monsoon season flooding and the availability of dry
season irrigation, rice can be grown in Aus, Aman and
Boro seasons. When the land is only shallow flooded
or water can be kept on the land by small bunds,
farmers grow Aus paddy followed by transplanted
Aman. If sufficient dry season soil moisture is
available a second or a third dry land crops can be
raised. In the moderately saline areas, a single crop of
transplanted Aman can be grown whereas; in saline
and toxic soils only mangrove forests. Sundarban
which is almost level swamps crossed by many tidal
creeks are tidally flooded with salt water, except where
embanked and reclaimed. This area is under mangrove
forest and the reclaimed land is mainly used for salt
production in the dry season and shrimp farm is the
main Landuse of the study area.

and

The assessment finds that biophysical condition can be

described using relatively few key attributes-change
in vegetative cover, native vegetation fragmentation,

FIG: 2: LAND USE AND LAND COVER MAP

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International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

TABLE 1: NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Normalized Differences Vegetation Index Mapping:

The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
is a simple graphical indicator that can be used to
analyze remote sensing measurements, typically but
not necessarily from a space platform. This is the basic
index for measuring the 'greenness' of the earth's
surface. To determine the density of green on a patch
of land, researchers must observe the distinct colors
(wavelengths) of visible and near-infrared sunlight
reflected by the plants. By combining the two channels
in a ratio or difference, and vegetation growth The
method, developed by NASA is known as the
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and
is given by the equation: NDVI= (NIR-RED/NIR+RED)
Where RED and NIR correspond to channels 1 and 2
respectively The NDVI is more widely used than the
Simple NDVI.
However, because it scales between -1 (for snow and
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ice) and +1 (for complete vegetation cover) In ETM+

image of study area (Indian Sundarban) apply NDVI
modeler to detect the greenness of the area. It is clearly
shown that the high range in mangrove swamp area of
eastern-southern part is deep mangrove forest and also
in domestic area where vegetation are founded.
Medium range is also representing the plantation area
found in Southern part. And first two classes are not
classified as vegetation coverage so no vegetation
coverage is found in different type of wetland and
water content area (Bay of Bengal).
Surface Water Temperatures of Sundarban:
The surface water temperatures in Sundarban have
shown significant rising trends for both pre-monsoon
and
monsoon
periods.
Quantitatively,
these
temperatures have risen by 6.14% in the western sector
and by 6.12% in the eastern sector over the past 30
years (1978-2008) at a rate of approximately

International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

0.05C/year (Mitra et al., 2009). In another study, the

annual composite sea surface temperature of Bay of
Bengal near Sagar Island during the period 2003-2009
varied from 28.023C in the year 2004 to 29.381C in
the year 2009. During the period the sea surface
temperature showed rising trend at the rate of 0.0453
C per year (Hazra, 2010). This observed rate was
found to be in conformity with the estimation done by
Singh (2002), which estimates a decadal rate of about
0.4C to 0.5C. Rising sea surface temperature is
directly related with the increased frequency and
severity of cyclonic storms and depression in the Bay
of Bengal. It is also reported that increasing trend in
SST may result in changes to the chemical composition
of sea water, leading to increased acidification &
decreased dissolved Oxygen level. In the study area,
Landsat ETM+ Satellite image is capture 28 February
2013.

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overtopping.

FIG: 4: TEMPERATURE MAP

FIG: 3: NDVI MAP

So this area is the highest temperature 23C to 32C

and medium temperature 21C to 23C and lowest
temperature 16C to 20C in that time.
Salinity in the Sundarbans:
In Sundarban, inhabited islands are protected by manmade embankments against the ingression of saline
water. This makes agriculture and aquaculture
possible in the islands (Danda, 2007). In Indian
Sundarban out of total 3500 km of embankment, 800
km is vulnerable to breach during high intensity
weather events. Present trend in sea level rise will
have serious impacts on the embankments making
these more vulnerable and the susceptible to breach &

FIG: 5: LAND SURFACE WATER MAP

The earthen embankments constructed in mid 19

century have already been worn out in several
locations at the same time the river beds are raised
through continuous siltation. The water level during
high tide in most of the rivers remains above the
adjacent inhabited areas. The crest height, slope
including bottom & top width, alignment and
materials used for maintenance of the existing
embankments are not considered to be the proper
defense to the rising trend in sea level and to save the
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International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

inhabited islands from inundation. The condition of

today is alarming as any moderate east wind having
speed of 30-40 km/hr at the ebb tide sequence can
damage several km of embankments and overtopping
with sea water. There can be total wash out during
cyclonic and storm surges. During such occasion, the
river water rushes into the islands and ruins almost
everything within minutes and incurs irreparable loss
of assets, lives and livelihoods of the people. The
adverse effects of increased salinity on the ecosystem
of the Sundarbans are manifested in the dying of tops
of Sundari trees, retrogression of forest types, slow
forest growth, and reduced productivity of forest sites
and agriculture. . In the study area Landsat ETM+
Satellite image is capture 28 February 2010. So this
area is the highest salinity zone 77ppt to 154ppt of
western part of Saguar Island and lower southern part
of Sundarban and medium salinity zone of Bakkhali
and Lothian Island 69ppt to 77ppt and lowest salinity
zone middle part of Sundarban 69 ppt to 61ppt.

industrial purposes
III) Exploration and sustainable use of living resources.
1)

Shoreline protection

I) Identification of vulnerable areas including eroded

areas and developmental activities.
II) Planning and implementation of coastal protection
work (erosion, flood protection, salt water intrusion,
etc.)
III) Impact of engineering structures and dams on
coastal processes of erosion, deposition and sediment
Transport.
IV) Suspended sediment dynamics.
v) Changes in bottom topography.
2)

Coastal Hazards and Climate Change

I) Cyclones, storm surges, sea-level rise and possible

effect
II) Emergency response plans for natural disasters
such as cyclones, sea level rise, or anthropogenic
activities such as oil spills.
3)

Coastal development

I) Appropriate site selection for industries, landfall

points, aquaculture, recreational activities, etc.
II) Assessment of conditions in regulation zones, areas
under construction setbacklines, megacities, etc.
Aila Affected for Sundarban Resource Management:

FIG: 5: SALINITY MAP

Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in

Coastal Zone Mapping:
Coastal Ecosystems and Marine Living Resources:
I) Generation of reference or baseline data,
conservation and restoration of vital and critical
habitats such as Mangroves, coral reefs, sea-grass beds,
etc.
II) Reclamation of wetland for agricultural and

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Cyclone Aila hit the Sundarban in the Indian sub

continent near Bay of Bengal on the afternoon of 2326th May, 2009, with gale-force winds up 120 kmph,
and torrential rain. As it crossed over the coastline of
South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, Aila
temporarily strengthened to a Category 1 cyclone. Aila
ripped through 17 districts in West Bengal, of which
South and North 24 Parganas was one of the affected.
Storm surged at the coast flooded agricultural areas
with saline water. High winds and high tide became a
devastating combination. According to UNDMT and
media reports, Aila was one of the worst cyclones in
decades, in which about 6.3 million people were
affected and nearly half a million homes were lost or
damaged
Environmental Impact of Aila:
Sundarbans meaning "beautiful forest" in Bengali is
known as the largest single block of tidal mangrove

International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

forest on earth, and a world heritage site. What is less

known is that Sundarbans is home to over a million
people, who live in a vulnerable environment, with
constant threat of rising sea levels, seasonal flooding
and water scarcity, diseases and loss of livelihood.
Land mass in this delta region is fragmented into
thousands of hard-to -access islands. Most of these are
below the sea level, ringed by bunds [traditional
embankments], to keep the salt water away. While this
provides precious land for human habitation, most
areas have to do without electricity, motorable roads,
or drinking water connections. People use diminishing
underground resources to meet some of their drinking
water needs, and harvest rainwater in shallow ponds
for all other purposes.
Environmental Change:
Environmental change is a major problem of the
world. Coastal Environment of Sundarban has been
changed on different issues and aspects of
environmental change. The extensive farming systems
requiring large land areas have contributed most to
encroachment of agriculture land and mangrove
clearance with increased intrusion of salinity,
degradation of land and destabilization of coastal ecosystems impact of shrimp while the others focus on
both environmental and social issues. The mainstream
literatures argue that shrimp farming in Sundarban
has many negative environmental impacts including
Stalinization of soil and water, loss of wild and
domesticated flora and fauna, mangrove destruction,
change in cropping patterns and species composition.

tidal and young estuarine floodplains, may

impede drainage from interior floodplain areas,
thus tending to restore the perennially wetland
areas of deltaic interfluves,
7.

In the shallower channels of the delta plain,

undercurrents and wave dash activities are
increased,

8.

Enormous reduction in tidal prism and

hydraulic adjustment with such problem
causing shoreline erosion at present,

9.

Potential capacity of the embankments is

decreased to prevent tidal flooding (through
branches) into the polders.

Major Threats to the Ecosystem:

Apart from the waste generated by Sundarbans,
untreated wastes, domestic waste per day reach the
Sundarbans area from the Calcutta Municipal Area.

Gradual clearance of the forest area has

occurred due to the increase in need for fuel
wood, construction activities, etc.

Sundarbans is also highly susceptible to natural

disasters. Violent storms occur during the
Southwest.

Monsoon and early post monsoon period,

causing severe erosion to the coastal zone.

In the changed situation, the salination of lands

and water in the inhabited areas of Sundarban
may bring more areas under brackish water
aquaculture (Bheries) given the decreasing
viability of fresh water aquaculture and
agriculture sectors, thus presenting an
opportunity for this sector to capitalize on the
changes posed by climate change.

Discharge of oil from mechanized boats and oil

tanker wash is also increasing. The Hooghly
River, which forms the western boundary of
the Sundarbans, has been subjected to great
stress from increased industrial & domestic
sewage pollution.

Intensive agriculture activities with more and

more fertilizer and pesticide along with
changed land-use pattern have an impact on
the ecosystem.

Due to the increase in population, the demand

for forest and marine resources has also
increased resulting in over-exploitation of the
resources and causing threat to the ecosystem.

Reclamation of Land The Sundarbans:

1.

Diversity of the surface level by silt-laden

inundation and silt-free inundation,

2.

Active river channels are silted up and directly

affected by thalweg shifting,

3.

Natural levees and open tidal floodplains

(unprotected areas) are building up regularly
by alluvial sedimentation to match the
increased height of seasonal river floods,

4.

At the same time the depth of seasonal flooding

by rain water (silt-free) is increasing over the
saucer shaped lowland in which the high tidal
inflow or river flooding is prevented by coastal
embankments,

5.

Existing channels are being enlarged or

laterally migrating by significant bank erosion,

6.

Elevation of the downstream levels and of the

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International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

major fuel and ii) at Sagar islands using solar

energy. Electricity generated through nonconventional energy sources is produced and
distributed under the supervision of WBREDA
(West Bengal Rural Energy Development
Agency).

Socio-economic Conditions Prevailing in Sundarbans:

Approximately, a population of 3.2 million inhabits
this vast saline tract, which consists of 54 of low-lying
conglomeration of islands interconnected through tidal
rivers, creeks and marshes. People are poor and they
subsist on single crop agriculture, fishing, honey and
wood collection from the forests. In the absence of any
alternate employment, they depend on traditional
skills to earn their livelihood and depend largely on
forest resources like firewood, timber wood, honey,
bee wax, Golpata (Nypa sp) and tend to resort to
illegal practices like poaching and felling. They collect
tiger shrimp seeds in large numbers thereby causing
damage to juvenile fish stock and mangroves. Studies
conducted in Villages around Sundarbans reveal that
there is a close relation between Sundarbans
mangroves and Socio-economics of the local people
where fishing, forestry and agriculture dominate
occupation structure. Agriculture is highly unbalanced
and mostly monoculture and the daily income of the
local people are involved in agriculture. A sizeable
number of people depend on illicit wood cutting and
honey collection from the forests. So, the fishermen,
honey collectors and cutters enter the deep forest area
in search of livelihood, ignoring the threat from tiger
attacks.
Development:
1.

Improved farming system and showing of high

yielding variety of seeds support sustainable
development in the field of agriculture.
Specially betel leaf farms are now well to do
financially.

2.

The State Government distributaries vested

lands among farmers having no lands. Farmers
cultivate on their own land at present.

3.

Major portions of the agricultural lands are

now protected by the construction of brickstudded stable embankments and sluices by the
Sundarbans Development Board. Excavation of
tanks and khals and renovations of these water
bodies are now helpful in minor irrigation.

4.

5.

110

Means of Communications are presently

improved by Government bus services up to
the gateways of Sundarbans conducted by
CSTC, SBSTC, CTC, NBSTC, and surface
Transport.
Electricity is now generated using nonconventional energy sources in two islands
particularly at i) Gosaba using wood as the

6.

Mangrove afforestation programme has been

accelerated through showing of mangrove
seeds thrown from the helicopter at the river
banks, point bars, mudflats of tidal creeks,
inlets etc at Sundarbans region by the
Sundarbans
Development
Board.
This
programme was initiated in 1991. The
Sundarbans region including surroundings of
human habituated islands is now densely
vegetated mangrove forested area.

Conclusion:
Evidences of climate change are numerous in
Sundarban. Broadly the changes are: increase in air
and water temperature, rise in sea level, enhanced
erosion of land, amplification in frequency and
intensity of extreme weather events like cyclone and
storm etc. During cyclone and storm surge, saline
water of the river rushes into the islands by breaking
the embankments and incurs irreparable loss / damage
of assets, lives and farmlands. These are putting
enormous stresses, both biotic and abiotic on live and
livelihood of the people of Sundarban. Sea levels are
rising faster than the global average and high intensity
events such as severe cyclones and tidal surges are
becoming more frequent. As land-based livelihood
activities get impacted due to these factors, more and
more people are exploiting the living resources of the
ecosystem in a manner that will be difficult to sustain
over the long term. The situation has the potential to
erode ecosystem integrity due to over exploitation of
natural resources. Moreover, the loss of land is now a
reality, causing human dislocation.

Prospect of alternative species is to be

examined where the existing species is misfit.
Introduction of salt tolerant freshwater species
with better growth rate in the freshwater
aquaculture areas is prone to saline water
inundation.

Providing prompt information on extreme

weather events like cyclone, depression, storm
surges, tsunami etc. to the farmer directly
through mass media / local media and guiding
them for taking suitable decisions.

International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

More integration among the farmers,

aquaculture experts, climate scientists and
extension workers is necessary.
Repairing of age-old embankments and
construction of new embankments wherever
necessary to protect the island from the
aggression of saline water during the period of
high-tides accompanied by cyclonic storms.
Better utilization of rainwater harvest ponds
through scientific fish farming and integrating
with livestock and crop production.
Land shaping, reclamation and re-excavation of
sweet water sources including step-cutting or
terracing on inward-slopes of the ponds. These
steps or terraces can be used for vegetable
cultivation during dry periods.
Integrated fish farming with livestock and
agriculture can be popularized for more
employment generation, better economic
returns and less risk.
Development of alternative climate adaptive
livelihood options for the fish farmers which
will match to their skill and capacity.

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Change Scenario: A Pilot Study on Ecologically sensitive
Sundarban Island System, West Bengal. Technical
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ICMAM-PD, 1998. Manual on methodology for

biological

parameters. Publ. by: ICMAM Project Directorate, Dept.

Of Ocean Development. pp: 1- 161.
L.S.S.O Indian Civil Service 1905 Bengal District Gazetteers
24 Parganas.
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, 1989.
Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, Project document No:
10, pp: 1- 65.
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, 1989.
Wetland, Mangroves and Biosphere Reserves. Proc. of
the Indo-US Workshop, New Delhi, pp: 1-269.
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India,
1998.Water Quality Criteria for different designated use
of Seawater. The Environment (Protection) (Second
Amendment) Rules, 1998.
Mitra, A., Gangopadhyay, V., Dube, A. Schmidt, A.C.K. And
Banerjee, K. 2009. Observed changes in water mass

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

properties in the Indian Sundarbans (northwestern Bay

The Paper is modified and enlarged version of the

round table discussion on the Coastal Zone Mapping
through Geospatial Technology for Resource
Management. The author is grateful to Dr. J.
Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Professor, Department of
Remote Sensing & GIS, Vidyasagar University,
Midnapore for valuable suggestions in preparation of
the manuscript. Sincere thanks of Dr. P. Chakrabarti,
Former Chief Scientist, Dept. of Science and
Technology, Govt. of West Bengal, India for according
permission to publish the paper

of Bengal) during 19802007, Current Science, Vol. 97,

Workshop on Sundarbans Day, 3rd June 2001, organised

by Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve and Zilla Parishad 24
Parganas (South) in collaboration with Department of
Sundarbans

Affairs,

Zoological

Survey

of

India,

Botanical Survey of India and Calcutta Wildlife Society.

Radhakamal Mukherjee, Arun Bandyopadhyay and Nurul
Hassan 2008-09 the changing Face of Bengal (University
Subba Rao N V, 1995. A faunal appraisal of Hugli - Matla

Basak U C. Das A B & P, Seasonal changes in organic

Mar,

freshwater Res., 49 (1998) 369-372.

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International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014

Zuzek, P.J., Nairn, R.B., and Thieme, S.J., 2003: Spatial and
temporal consideration for calculating shoreline change
rates in the Great Lakes Basin. Journal of Coastal
Research, v. 38. pp 125-146.
1.

Mr. Ismail Mondal, Research Scholar

2. Dr. Jatisankar Bandyopadhyay, Assistant

Professor , Department of Remote Sensing &
GIS, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore721102,
West
Bengal,
Telephone
03222276554/276555/276557/276558, Extn. 488
Fax: 03222-275329, Mobile No 0947551958109433455107, e-mails: ismailmondal58@gmail.com,

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