New Delhi:
As India and other countries come together to find ways to combat climate change, for many living in the Sunderbans, it may already be too late.
There are signs of nature's fury - broken bits of embankment that failed to keep the sea at bay - battering the low lying Sunderban islands in the Bay of Bengal.
Scientists say global warming has led to a rise in sea levels, and with it an increase in the intensity of storms and waves hitting the island.
"Everything got destroyed in the sea water. Our house was broken when the waters came. We were in the house when the sea water came in the night," said Ahmad Shah, resident, Mousini island.
In the last 40 years, 600 hectares of land has been lost to the sea and more than 50 families displaced over and over again.
To put it into perspective, the land where a house once stood, over the past seven years, the sea has moved in by at least half-a-kilometer.
But now, there may be some respite.
Last weekend, a WWF centre was inaugurated on Mousini, the southernmost island. The centre will receive early weather warnings from INQUIS, a government monitoring agency in Hyderabad. The centre also has medical aid, health and sanitation kits to deal with the aftermath of a disaster. The centre will also train locals at relief work.
"The disaster response team is all set. It is prepared with early warning and with rescue. It is prepared with safety measures like water, sanitation and so forth," said Dr Anurag Danda, head of WWF's Sunderban programme.
Sunderban is one of the most densely populated islands in the world with over 1000 people per sq kilometer. Its unique mangrove forests also support a sizeable tiger population, but all of this faces the real danger of being lost forever.