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145being the Shankapur Creek east of Digha. The outstanding management problems at themoment are related to the erosion of the dune face at Digha, a process that, according toanecdotal evidence probably commenced around 1950 and beach lowering. Before 1960s,there were an accretional zone in New Digha, an erosional zone at old Digha and anaccretional zone at Sankarpur Dadanpatrabar region. Recent analysis shows that along DighaSankarpur coast six contrasting accretional and erosional segments could be identified.Being a popular tourist resort, coastal erosion is therefore a critical issue in coastal zonemanagement in this sector of West Bengal coast.Sundarban areas inclusive of Sagar110. Researchers from School of Oceanography, Jadavpur University undertook a timeseries analysis of the change in the shape, size and geomorphic features of the islands over aperiod of 32 years (1969-2001). The important observations regarding the erosion accretionpattern of the island system can be summarized as follows:1. Total erosion over the 30 years time span is estimated to be 162.879 sq.km. Fewislands like Lohachara and Bedford (6.212 sq. km.) have already vanished from themap.2. Erosion zones are most prominent among the 12 sea facing southern islands fromSagar to the west to Bhangaduni in the east. The southwestern corners of the islandsare particularly susceptible to sustained erosion. Erosion is also seen along the seafacing shoreline that is oblique to the incoming waves.3. The western banks of the inner islands are more vulnerable to erosion than theeastern banks and the rate of retreat of western banks is more severe. Accretion islocalized in the inner estuaries particularly along eastern and northern margins andalong the coasts of islands trending parallel to the incoming waves. The amount ofland accretion over the past 30 years is estimated at 82.505 sq. km.4. Within the island system, the Sagar island has suffered the bulk of erosion with anareal loss of 30 sq. km. with marginal accretion.The net loss in land area in the eastern part of West Bengal coastal zone is probably due toerosion and/or submergence attributed to sea level rise consequent upon recent climatechange and global warming. Therefore, in this sector of West Bengal coast coastal erosion isa key issue in coastal zone management.D.6.4 Other Natural Disasters IssuesCyclones