Tiger, the Sundarbans and our responsibilities

Md Shahadat Hossain Suvo
Published : 29 July 2020, 01:05 AM
Updated : 29 July 2020, 01:05 AM

The largest mangrove forest in the world is the Sundarbans, located between India and Bangladesh. Its area is about 10,000 square kilometres where 60 percent is situated in Bangladesh. Our national animal, Royal Bengal Tiger, lives only in the Sundarbans. According to the Forest Department, there were as many as 440 tigers in the forest in 2004. The number dropped to 106 in 2016 and rose slightly to 114 in 2019.

On the other hand, India, having a smaller portion of the forest, was able to increase the number from 81 in 2016 to 96 in 2019, with a much higher growth rate. Apart from India and Bangladesh, Nepal, Russia and Bhutan are also involved in tiger growth.

So, what's behind India's success in raising the number of tigers at a higher rate than Bangladesh? India strictly forbade people from entering the Sundarbans. Those living inside the Sundarbans have also been rehabilitated outside the forest. People who lived near the Sundarbans also moved away from the forest. As a result, there is almost no conflict between tigers and humans. Besides, the places where tigers roam more in the Sundarbans of India, the movement of people are being prevented by monitoring through surveillance cameras. India was finally able to increase the size of the Sundarbans along with the number of tigers.

In the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans, even a few days ago, there were regular gun battles and kidnappings inside the forest. Although it has come down a lot due to the activities of law enforcement agencies, many types of crimes are still being committed there. People are also entering the forest for timber, honey, leaf and fish, giving a rise in human-tiger conflicts. There is also a shortage of food for the tigers due to deer poaching and killings of other wildlife. This is a reason behind tigers often entering the villages near the Sundarbans in search of food and attack domestic animals. As many as 38 tigers have been killed in 20 years. Also, as the rate of growth in the number of tigers slows down, the chances of inbreeding among them are increasing. This will reduce the risk of genetic diversity and increase the risk of morbidity, which in turn will increase the mortality rate.

Genetic diversity is possible by introducing tigers from different places, such as zoos and safaris. From there, a reintroduction project can be started with some selected six-month-old tiger cubs. A breeding centre in the vicinity of the Sundarbans will also be needed to make the tigers accustomed to the forest. The government will need experts who can teach the cubs how to hunt in the wild. The next generations of these cubs will be able to survive in the wild.

What else can we do to protect the tigers?

– Ban public access to the Sundarbans and form a separate force to protect the Sundarbans in order to curb robberies and trafficking.

– Evacuate from inside and around the Sundarbans and rehabilitate them to reduce human-tiger conflict.

– Provide easy loans to the people, who depend on the Sundarbans, for farming bees, cattle, fish and even biogas.

– Raise fences to stop the tigers from entering the localities and install solar panels to provide the villagers with power in order to ensure their safety from the tigers.

– Install security cameras in the areas inside the forest that are prone to crimes.

– Create deer and pig farms around the Sundarbans and release the animals in the forest as food for the tigers.

– Compensate the families of the people killed or injured in tiger attacks.

We must not forget that the Sundarbans protect a large portion of the coastal region in the southern part of Bangladesh from natural calamities like cyclones and storm surge. And the Sundarbans has survived for the tigers. Without the tigers, the forest will lose ecological balance and subsequently die out with the lowlands flooded often during tides. This will increase salinity, affecting agriculture negatively. And a cut in crop production due to possible salinity will only lead to an increase in poverty in the region.