Sunderbans: Paradise Eroded

An Indian woman pulling a prawn fishing net from the mud embankment on the Matla river, in the Sundarbans delta. Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP

A woman works in a paddy field at Mathurakhand village in Sunderbans. Photograph: Parth Sanyal/Reuters

A boy stands behind a fishing net at Moushuni island. All that separates residents from a rising sea is a mud embankment, a fragile barrier tasked with holding back the inevitable flood that one day will wash away their island home. Photograph: Jayanta Shaw/Reuters

an Indian woman pulling a prawn fishing net from the mud embankment on the Matla river, in the Sundarbans delta Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP

A deer walks on the mangroves of the Sunderbans tiger reserve. Wildlife experts say rising sea levels and coastal erosion caused by global warming are steadily shrinking the mangroves of Sunderbans, threatening the survival of the endangered tigers. Photograph: Jayanta Shaw/Reuters

A child rests in Moushuni island. Hundreds living on West Bengal's sparsely populated Moushuni island - part of the Sunderbans national park and the world's largest mangrove forest - have never heard the term "global warming" but they are living with its consequences Photograph: Jayanta Shaw/Reuters

Indian villagers carry fuel for their motor boats along a mud embankment in the Sunderbans, Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP

A damaged police station as a result of rising sea levels and coastal erosion is seen at the Sagar island Photograph: Jayanta Shaw/Reuters

Children play on a damage embankment behind mangrove plantations at Moushuni island. All that separates residents from a rising sea is a mud embankment, a fragile barrier tasked with holding back the inevitable flood that one day will wash away their island home. Photograph: Jayanta Shaw/Reuters

A rescued tigress crosses the river Sundarikati after being released by the forest workers at Sunderbans, some 150 kms south of Kolkata on February 19, 2008. The pregnant tigress, which strayed nearly 30 kms from deep inside the Sunderbans forest, was rescued by the forest workers after being stoned and badly beaten by villagers Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP

Women make soil packs for mangrove plantation at Mathurakhand village in Sunderbans. Photograph: Parth Sanyal/Reuters

Indian villagers prepare bags of soil for mangrove seedlings at a Mangrove Nursery, a project funded by the British government, at the village of Mathurakhand in the Sunderbans. Environmentalists says that the planting of mangroves can protect the unique forest which is also the habitat of Royal Bengal Tigers. Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP

An Indian villager looks at mangrove seedlings at a Mangrove Nursery, a project funded by the British government, at the village of Mathurakhand in the Sunderbans. Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP