The World Bank has decided to support Bangladesh in carrying out a series of studies to develop a comprehensive programme for sustainable development of the Sundarbans, the world's single largest mangrove forest. Officials of the World Bank in Bangladesh told AIR Correspondent in Dhaka that the bank is providing grants for Technical Assistance to facilitate studies which will help in developing a program that identifies intervention strategies to address the region’s main conservation and development challenges like poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity conservation.The Sundarbans is home to an estimated 425 species of wildlife, including 300 species of birds and 42 species of mammals, as well as the Royal Bengal Tiger. Over 3.5 million people live in the Sundarbans Ecologically Critical Area of Bangladesh, with no permanent settlement within the Sundarban Reserve Forest. Among them, about 1.2 million people directly depend on Sundarbans for their livelihood. Most of these people are wood cutters, leaf collectors, fishermen, crab and shell collectors, honey collectors and shrimp fry collectors. Most of the people involved in such activities are women and children. The studies being funded by the World Bank will help the Bangladesh Government to develop a comprehensive sustainable eco-management plan which will facilitate conservation of the mangrove forests in addition to addressing the livelihood requirements of the people dependent on Sundarban’s natural resources.