A UNESCO world heritage site, West Bengal's Sunderbans have been categorised as an 'endangered ecosystem' according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s The Red List of Ecosystems.
However, there is a glimmer of hope as researchers have published a study in the latest issue of Biological Conservation, where they have that the world's largest mangrove system is slowly stabilising and also becoming resistant to climate change.
Scientists are 'cautiously optimistic' about the Sunderbans as they say even tiger numbers have improved. However, they have flagged certain threats that continue to plague the region including impacts of sea level rise and coastal erosion.