Dipankar Bar:Adequate number of trees and forests are essential for the survival of human being. Including maintaining natural balance, Coastal forests protect people from catastrophic storms and tidal surges. The Sundarbans protects the local people of Bangladesh from natural disasters. On the other hand, the ‘Royal Bengal Tiger’ is the protector of the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is so diverse and attractive because of the presence of this elite species of tiger with black-striped on yellow. Without the Bengal Tiger in the Sundarbans, the overall ecosystem would be severely damaged. Therefore, the importance of conserving tigers to save the Sundarbans is immense.
Tigers now exist in only 13 countries in the world, including Bangladesh, India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Bhutan, Nepal and Russia. The governments of tiger range countries of the world including Bangladesh are continuing their efforts to save tigers. Following this, in view of the decision taken at the 2010 Summit of the Heads of State of the 13 Tiger Range Countries held in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 29 is being observed as International Tiger Day every year with the aim of accelerating tiger conservation activities. This day is celebrated to protect the natural habitat of tigers and to create awareness among the people about tiger conservation. International Tiger Day 2021 will be celebrated on July 29 in Bangladesh under the theme ‘Tigers save Sundarbans, Sundarban saves millions of lives’.
The number of tigers worldwide is declining day by day due to destroying safe forests and breeding grounds for tigers, poaching, lack of essential food and drinking water, conflicts between tigers and humans, free movement within forests, increasing salinity, natural disasters, setting up factories near forests, various diseases, forest tourism and lack of punishment for tiger hunters. According to the latest data, there are about 3,900 wild tigers in the world. Tiger experts are of the opinion that if the global tiger population continues to decline rapidly, there is a risk that tigers will disappear from the face of the earth in the next few decades.
Following the timely directives of hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and under the leadership of hon’ble Minister Md. Shahab Uddin, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is implementing a multi-pronged plan to increase the number of tigers in the UNESCO World Heritage Sundarbans. Appropriate initiatives are being taken to increase the number of tigers in the Sundarbans by developing habitats and providing regular patrols to protect them. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a protocol were signed between Bangladesh and India in 2011 to implement tiger conservation, tiger and poaching trafficking, skills development, monitoring and other activities in the Sundarbans. The 2nd Stocktaking Conference was organized by the Government of Bangladesh on 14-16 September 2014. Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh inaugurated the conference.
The 3rd Annual Meeting of the South Asian Wildlife Enforcement Network was organized by the Government of Bangladesh on 26-27 October 2016 in Dhaka to prevent poaching and trafficking of tigers and other wildlife. Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan 2018-2027 has been formulated for tiger conservation. Fifty-two percent of the Sundarbans has been declared a protected area for the free movement and reproduction of tigers and other wildlife.
The government is providing 30 percent risk allowance to the field level forest workers who are working to protect the Sundarbans and its tigers by fighting various natural disasters and forest pirates at the risk of their lives. Regular smart patrolling activities are being carried out in four ranges of the Sundarbans with the help of GPS for the conservation of the Sundarbans and tigers. Police, RAB, Coast Guard and Naval Police are working closely with the Forest Department to prevent tiger and other wildlife poaching in the Sundarbans.
In 2008, 49 Village Tiger Response Teams were formed in villages near to the Sundarbans to resolve the human-tiger conflict. As a result, it is becoming possible to exchange news and take precautionary measures as soon as the tiger arrives in the locality. The Community Patrol Team and the Co-Management Committee were formed in 2010 and regular patrolling and information sharing activities are being carried out by these teams. Regular training is being imparted to the staff of the Forest Department for the conservation of Sundarbans and tigers. Various research activities on tiger conservation are being conducted. Public universities are playing a leading role in this regard.
In order to resolve the human-tiger conflict, under the Wildlife Compensation Rules, 2021, the amount of compensation has been increased from Taka 1 lakh to Taka 3 lakh for those killed in tiger attacks and from Taka 50,000 to Taka 1 lakh for seriously injured. In addition, to compensate the person killed and seriously injured in the tiger attack, according to the “Wildlife Compensation Policy-2010” and the subsequently enacted “Wildlife Compensation Rules, 2021”, from 2011 to June, 2021, 62 families were compensated with the sum of 58 lakh taka.
Section 36 of the Bangladesh Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012 provides for a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 7 years imprisonment and a minimum fine of Tk. 1 lakh to a maximum of Tk 10 lakh. Repeat of the same offense is punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of 12 years and a fine of up to Tk 15 lakh. According to section 36 of the law, killing a tiger will be considered as a non-bailable offense.
Tiger conservation requires safe habitat and adequate food. A five-year project titled “Sundarbans Protection Project” has been taken up under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to protect the Sundarbans and its wildlife. The project includes various research activities, ecological monitoring, etc. in the Sundarbans and the conservation of wildlife in these forests. On March 3 this year, four drones have been handed over to the Forest Department to conduct monitoring activities in the Sundarbans to protect forests and wildlife. Drone management training is already being imparted to the field level officers and employees of the Forest Department.
According to the Forest Department, a tiger survey conducted by the Forest Department in 2014-15 using a camera trapping method found 106 tigers in the Sundarbans. Later, in 2017-18, a tiger survey conducted by the Forest Department through camera trapping method found 114 tigers in the Sundarbans. In other words, the number of tigers in the Sundarbans has increased by 8 percent in three years due to various effective measures of the government.
A project called the “Tiger Conservation Project” is under government’s consideration to conserve tigers in the Sundarbans. It will be possible to determine the relative density, make a nylon rope fence in the area adjacent to the Sundarbans locality, monitor the important areas of the Sundarbans through the use of drones, implement training programs, etc.
There is no alternative to conserving tigers to protect the Sundarbans. To save and increase the tiger, the government is taking all possible measures to free its habitat, food and free it from the clutches of outside predators. It is difficult for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Forest Department alone to stop the killing and smuggling of tigers. Everyone involved in the conservation of our national animal tiger must come forward. Otherwise, this endangered animal will soon extinct from our country. So, let’s make a concerted effort to save the tiger, the protector of the Sundarbans for our own survival.
