The man-wild conflict in the Sundarbans will not subside unless people who depend on the forest for sustenance get an alternate source of livelihood, said veteran forest officials and social activists.
“The situation has improved a lot. The scale of dependence on the forest is nowhere near what it was a few decades ago. Government schemes have reached the grassroots. More schools have come up. The level of education is going up. The youth are looking at other career options. However, a significant portion of the population is still economically deprived. Venturing into the forest to catch fish and crab is an occupation that has run down generations,” said a retired forest official.
“To discourage them from entering the forest is easier said than done. It requires the participation of all the stakeholders — the panchayat, NGOs and private companies as well,” he said.
Joydip Kundu, founder of the Society for Heritage & Ecological Research (SHER), an NGO that works for conservation of nature, said that mud crab cultivation and box honey collection were among the livelihoods that can lure villagers away from the forests if implemented properly.
“Policy interventions are needed, but this is not the job of the government alone,” he said.
In recent years, a section of traditional honey collectors in the Sundarbans has been trained in the use of apiary boxes—man-made, portable beehives, set up in designated, fenced-in areas. The project is a collaboration between the forest department and WWF-India.
A senior forest official linked the human deaths to the soaring demand for mud crabs. “In most cases, people are attacked by a tiger when they step out of the boat and into the forest. You don’t need to get off the boat to catch fish or even crab. Long nylon ropes with a series of hooks are used to catch crabs in shallow waters. The hooks have rotten fish as bait. The crabs come for the fish and get stuck. But you cannot get only big crabs with this method. That is why people get off their boats,” said the official.
“A kilo of big mud crabs sells at well over ₹1,000 at the local markets. These crabs have a huge demand in restaurants and even among exporters. It is a lure that many cannot afford to ignore. As long as that demand is not curbed, people will die. Enforcement alone cannot help,” he said.
The Indian Sundarbans is spread over 4000sqkm. The vast expanse of rivers and narrow creeks cannot be patrolled in its entirety, said another forester.
“The department barely has around 150 patrol boats. There is an acute staff crunch. It is not possible to deploy people everywhere,” he said.
Sandeep Sundriyal, the chief wildlife warden of Bengal, told Metro: “Till 10-12 years ago, honey collection in the Sundarbans would be considered extremely risky and often fatal. However, we have been able to streamline the process. Some are doing it without entering the deep forests. People who enter the forests do so in an organised and much safer way in collaboration with the department. We hope the same model is followed in catching crab as well. But all stakeholders must unite for this”.