In which year was the Sundarbans National Park designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

The Sundarbans National Park, in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (natural) in 1987. The adjoining Sundarbans in Bangladesh was separately declared a World Heritage Site in 1997.

The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, formed by the delta of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal. The name is often said to come from the "sundari" tree (Heritiera fomes), a common mangrove species there. It covers about 10,000 square kilometres, of which about 40% lies in India and the rest in Bangladesh. The area is a maze of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands.

The Sundarbans is famous as the home of the Royal Bengal tiger, which has adapted to the mangrove habitat by swimming between islands and living partly on fish and crabs. Other animals include the saltwater crocodile, the Gangetic dolphin, the Indian python, spotted deer and the endangered river terrapin (Batagur baska) and the Olive Ridley turtle in nearby waters.

Protections in India:

• Tiger reserve under Project Tiger (1973).
• National park (1984).
• UNESCO World Heritage Site (1987).
• Biosphere reserve (1989), included in UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2001.
• Ramsar site (Sundarban Wetland, 2019), India's largest Ramsar site by area.

Mangroves protect the coast from cyclones, storm surges and erosion, act as nurseries for fish, and store large amounts of carbon. The Sundarbans faces threats from sea-level rise, cyclones (such as Aila in 2009, Amphan in 2020 and Remal in 2024), salinity and human-wildlife conflict.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1985 is when Kaziranga, Manas and Keoladeo were inscribed.
• ✗1992 is incorrect for the Sundarbans.
• ✗2001 is when the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve joined UNESCO's network.