Who can save the Sundarbans? 2nd Prize: Anubha Tewari
Gateway House Global Minds Essay Competition
2nd prize: Anubha Tewari
Class XII, Smt. Sandraben Shroff Gnyan Dham School
Valsad, Gujarat
Who can save the Sundarbans?
(A Collective Effort)
During our childhood we all had heard the story of two cats fighting with each other over sharing of bread where in each was finding the other’s piece of bread to be bigger. Ultimately they referred the matter to a monkey who kept on helping himself with small portions from the breads of both until none was left. Same seems to be the plight in the present Sunderban imbroglio where both India and Bangladesh behaving like the cats had been fighting over an island in Sunderban Delta called the New Moore Island by India and South Talpatti Island by Bangladesh. However, Mother Nature acting like the monkey in the story ensured that none of the two nations got it and since then the said island has submerged in the sea due to the rise in the sea level due to the global warming effect.
It has to be understood by both India and Bangladesh that the UNESCO world heritage site of Sunderbans falls within their defined contiguous boundaries and if it is to be saved then both the nations have to bury their hatchet and sincerely align towards achieving this goal. The time is at premium and they should act with responsibility and alacrity before the effort becomes” Too little too late”.
Today a crisis is unfolding in the Sunderbans. Due to the neglect by one and all there has been more accelerated erosion of land mass in the last ten years as compared to the preceding three decades. As fallout of the global warming the entire area of the Sunderbans mangrove forest would be completely submerged by water if the sea level rose by just a few feet. An estimated 15 per cent of the Sunderban delta will go under the sea by 2020 as per the UN Development Programme.
Measures for Saving the Sunderbans
1. Establishment of a Joint Forum of India and Bangladesh
First and foremost a dedicated joint forum to save Sunderbans comprising of eminent environmentalists, scientists and NGOs to take measures to save the most diverse ecosystem should be formed at the earliest and submit an action plan to address the issue. Its findings be implemented and progress monitored periodically. It should however be above all politics and diplomacy.
2. Generating Alternative Livelihoods
In view of vast number of inhabitants depending on local flora and fauna in the Sunderbans both the Indian and the Bangladeshi governments need to introduce alternatives for income generation so that local people would not have to depend heavily on mangrove forest resources. People living in Sunderbans depend on the mangroves for a variety of resources – honey, firewood, deer meat, thatch, fish and shrimp. These communities could be engaged in handicrafts/artifacts, poultry and improved agriculture that bring them better income.
3. Regulate Tourism Activities for Environment Protection
There has been an appreciable rise in commercial activities around Sunderban sanctuaries. The unregulated tourism is as big a threat to the Sunderban’s tiger population in particular and eco system in general. Unregulated tourism has led to massive water pollution, which is caused by the large number of vessels plying in the rivers and channels. These vessels also release sewage and chemical effluents upstream. Besides, there is dumping of waste especially plastic near the riverbanks.
4. Encouraging Ecotourism
The term ecotourism means friendly tourism practices. For it to be successful the local communities have to be involved. A Community based Ecotourism Model has some features that plans to benefit the community as a whole. Introduction of a business model that would otherwise help the community members establish tourism products and services that can be catered to eco-tourists such as student groups, researchers and backpackers will provide other avenues of earning to the community.
5. Monitoring changes in Sunderban Mangrove Forest using RS/GIS
Due to inaccessibility of the hostile Sunderbans terrain, it is almost impossible even for the Forest Department staff to carry out land-based survey of the mangrove forest and enumeration of the crop. To overcome these physical problems, remote sensing technique was tried out for the region to test the effectiveness of the technology in monitoring the mangrove ecosystem of Sunderbans. It is recommended that regular mapping, at least biennially, of Sunderbans forests be carried out, using the GIS and Remote Sensing technology, to monitor the changes in Sunderbans ecosystem which is the habitat of the highly endangered species of Royal Bengal Tiger. The utility of this technology in real-time monitoring of the changes in the remote and mostly inaccessible habitat gives a clear picture to the scientists/environmentalist to decide their course of action.
6. Assistance by International Financial Organisations
Various international organizations, banks and NGOs and even nations have to come forward to provide funds. The local communities can also be given soft loans to undertake other sources of sustenance However; they will also require monitoring and auditing the usage of the funds to ensure that the end users are benefited. Going by the past experience a fool proof mechanism is to be devised in this regard.
7. Responsibility of the Local Community
As goes the saying “God helps those who help themselves”, the local community has to take initiative and ensure total commitment to various self development programmes as they are the affected party. One such initiative is the backyard farming to help them get over the mental block that their salinated lands are no good for farming. This proves to them that at least their backyards are back to fertility and their dependence on the mangrove will reduce considerably. However, the state government/centre has to monitor such projects and provide the special variety of seeds which can be used in salinated soil. Local community has to be given jobs related to wildlife preservation for saving the tigers in particular, encouraged to undertake poultry farming, handicrafts etc. They have to be provided a very strong education system not only to understand the impact of global warming on their very existence but to find more avenues for jobs outside Sunderbans. They also ought to be given a special quota for higher education and jobs. The locals have to come forward and take the given opportunities for self development and discard the habit of living of the land.
Conclusion
Both India and Bangladesh have to learn from the past mistakes and integrate these prioritized interventions to address the region’s main conservation and development challenges viz poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation in the Sunderbans. The nature has sounded the alarm and time is running short. Let both the countries act as responsible neighbours and address the most threatening environmental challenge where the very existence of the Sunderbans is at stake. The onus of saving the Royal Bengal Tiger lies squarely with India and Bangladesh. But before that Sunderbans is to be saved from the vagary of the nature. If we fail in saving Sunderbans, then posterity will blame us for being indifferent and inactive.
Let us all join hands and align to the cause of saving the beautiful striped tiger and its habitat from extinction.