The Sundarban mangrove forest blankets a million hectares in Southwestern Bangladesh and the adjoining Indian State of West Bengal.  It is Earth’s most biodiverse and largest uninterrupted mangrove block, providing many essential goods and services to the surrounding populace.  More than 2.5 million people in southwest Bangladesh depend upon the Sundarban for their livelihoods. The ecosystem faces many threats, chief among which is climate change.  Past and current management of the forest and research to underpin climate-responsive future management will be discussed. 

About the Speaker

Dr. Mahmood Hossain is a Professor of Forestry and Wood Technology at Khulna University, Bangladesh. Currently, he is the Vice-Chancellor of the same university. Dr. Mahmood has been working for more than two decades on mangrove ecosystems, forest productivity and nutrient cycling. Some of his applied perspectives have focused on the stress ecology of mangroves, biomass estimation, and carbon sequestration by the forests. He published 122 scientific articles and three books covering different aspects of the mangrove ecosystem, forest inventory and nutrient dynamics. Dr. Mahmood obtained professional degrees from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh (B.Sc. Hons. in Forestry) and University Putra Malaysia (MS Mangrove Ecology and Ph.D. Mangrove Ecology).