From the Project Tiger Status Report, 2001 FOR INFORMATION ONLY
Issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests
Downloaded from www.sanctuaryasia.com
Sundarbans Tiger Reserve
Introduction
Sundarbans in the Indian state of West Bengal is the estuarine phase of the Ganga as well as of the Brahmaputra river systems. This littoral forest is the only ecological habitat of the tiger of its kind not only in India but also in the world, except in Bangladesh. The typical littoral forest of the Sundarbans comprises a host of tree species adapted to the peculiar estuarine condition of high salinity, lack of soil erosion and daily inundation by high tides.
Sundarbans Tiger Reserve provides characteristic type of habitat suitable for animals inhabiting vast tidal swamp area. Because of their intimate association with the estuarine environment, sizeable portion of aquatic and semi-aquatic animal communities are
inter-related with the animals inhabiting the land areas. The uniqueness of the habitat is said to have contributed to certain behavioral trends, which are characteristic only of Sundarbans tigers.
Chital, wild boar and the rhesus macaque are the main prey species of tiger. Aquatic animals like the crabs and fishes are also eaten by Sundarbans tiger, which occupies the pinnacle of both terrestrial as well as aquatic food web.
Sundarbans mangrove is the home of a number of endangered and globally threatened species. Number of heronries form here during monsoon as well as during winter. The Reserve is home to several Trans-Himalayan migratory birds.
Conservation History
Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, created in 1973, was part of the then 24-Parganas Forest Division. Subsequently, the area comprising the present tiger reserve was constituted as a Reserve Forest in 1978. The area of the Reserve is 2585 sq. km., covering land area of 1600 sq. km. and the water body occupying over 985 sq. km. Within this area,
1330.12 sq. km. is designated as core area, which was subsequently declared as Sundarbans National Park in 1984. An area of 124.40 sq. km. within the core area is preserved as primitive zone to act as a gene pool. Within the buffer zone, Sajnekhali Wildlife sanctuary was created in 1976, covering an area of 362.335 sq. km. Considering the importance of the biogeographic region of Bengal River Forests and its unique biodiversity, the National Park area of the Reserve was included in the list of World Heritage Sites in 1985. The entire Sundarbans area was declared as Biosphere Reserve in 1989.
Forest Types
Tidal Swamp Forests - 4B/TS1 & 4B/TS2
Saline Water Type Mixed Forests - 4B/TS2
Brackish Water Type Mixed Forests - 4B/TS4
Palm Swamp Type - 4B/E1
Main Flora
There are 64 plant species in the Sundarbans with the capacity to withstand estuarine conditions and saline inundation as a result of tidal effects. Some of them are listed here:
Excaecaria agallocha, Heritiera fomes, Ceriops decandra, Ceriops tagal, Phoenix paludosa, Sonneratia alba, Avicennia spp., Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, Xylocarpus granatum, Bruguiera spp. etc.
Main Fauna
Tiger, fishing cat, spotted deer, wild boar, Gangetic dolphin, water monitor, estuarine crocodile, river terrapin, olive ridley turtle, ground turtle, hawksbill turtle, king crab (horseshoe) etc.
Management
The Reserve has received effective protection under Project Tiger since its creation. Protection against poaching and theft of forest produce is ensured through intensive patrolling by staff in motorboats and launches. The offices and camps are located at strategic points to keep a watch over the area. There exists an effective communication network for protection.
Eco-development, education, training and research are other thrust areas. Mud flats on the periphery of the Reserve are artificially regenerated with mangrove plants to meet local fuel wood demand and reduce the pressure on the buffer. Non-mangrove plantations are also raised along the roads and embankments of the fringe area to cater the need of the fringe people.
Soil conservation is taken up to stabilize vulnerable sites. To facilitate the availability of sweet water for animals, ponds have been dug at several places in the forest.
The other main activity is controlling man-eating by tigers, which has existed here since time immemorial. The number of casualties has been reduced from more than 40 to less than 10 per year. This has been possible by maintaining a strict control over the movement of people inside the Reserve, alternative income generation and awareness building among people. Use of human-masks, electric human dummies etc. are also believed to have also contributed in controlling man-eating by tigers. Straying of tigers into the adjoining villages has been a serious problem in the area. Measures like erection of branches of genwa, nylon net fencing at forest side and solar illumination at village side at night have, however, helped to reduce the incidents of tiger straying. For rescuing a strayed tiger, the method of tranquilization using a dart gun is also applied when driving the tiger back to the nearby forest is not possible. The youth in the villages have also been imparted training to enable them to play an appropriate role in controlling the straying of the tigers into the habitation.
Village Forest Protection Committees
The management and villagers have formed ten village forest protection committees.
Eco-development
Co-operation of the fringe people in conservation of the tiger habitat, as it could gradually be felt, has been possible through constant motivation and awareness building, as well as by increased public liaison and peoples’ involvement in the planning process for implementation of eco-development programme. Participatory Management has already been introduced in the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. Ten Forest Protection Committees and fourteen Eco-development Committees have been formed and the response is positive.
Eco-development Activities
Excavation of rainwater irrigation channel to increase agricultural production.
Provision of pisciculture ponds in the buffer area to be managed by village co-operative for prawns and sweet water fish. This will help in income generation.
Provision of solar lights in the villages on the periphery, both for lighting as well as to scare away tiger from straying into the villages.
Provision of smokeless chullahs for optimization of fuel consumption.
Raising mangrove plantations on the periphery to meet local fuelwood demand
Provision of medical care facilities to the villagers through collaborative efforts of the Management and NGOs.
Education and Awareness
Mangrove eco-system is very fragile and peoples’ sustenance in the area, again, mainly depends on the maintenance and sustainable use of the eco-system. Educating people around the Reserve about the importance of conservation of mangrove ecosystem and its natural resources, as well as launching of a programme of training and demonstration of improvised technology for bringing socio-economic development in the region are of paramount importance. To this end, seminars, workshops, awareness camps, audio-visual shows etc. are organised frequently in the vicinity of the Reserve. Interpretation trips are also arranged for school students, villagers, Panchayat members and women. Short-term training course about the mangrove eco-system is conducted for registered local tourist guides, which has generated local interest and employment. The Mangrove Interpretation Centre established at Sajnekhali will plays a great role in awareness building and orientation of the people and tourists.
Special Projects
The Reserve has successfully launched a special programme to conserve the highly endangered olive ridley turtles. Hatching of the olive ridley turtle and river terrapin is done at Sajnekhali to replenish their population.
Control of Buffer
Control of buffer is with the management of the Reserve.
Constraints
There is no denying the fact that the mangrove zone, because of its difficult geographic situation, a hostile terrain crisscrossed by a network of turbulent streams, a long stretch of international border with Bangladesh and fishing arena in the sea for thousands of trawlers and mechanised boats, is vulnerable to various threats like poaching of animals and pilferage of woods. Compared to the size of this protected area and the proportion of problems encountered here, logistic support in terms of staff, infrastructure facilities and funds is inadequate.
Staff
Of the total sanctioned staff strength of 268, there are 63 posts lying vacant including that of three range officers, seven deputy range officers, 18 forest guards and 21 boatmen.
Funds: Inadequate
Infrastructure: Inadequate
Fire: Fire does not occur.
Grazing
Since the mangrove forest of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve is bounded all along its periphery by streams and creeks, there is no problem on account of cattle grazing.
Poaching of Fauna and Flora
The core area of the Reserve is free from all biotic interference, although attempts at fishing are a disturbance.
Though no organised poaching of Tiger has been detected in the recent years, eight tigers suffered unnatural deaths during the period from 1989 to 1998. In all the cases, strayed tigers were killed by the outraged villagers. Some of the killings were carried out by poisoning. The seizure of a few tiger skins in Kolkata and its vicinity gives an indication that poaching of tigers does take place, but the source could be either the Indian part of the Sundarbans or the adjacent area of Bangladesh.
Honey collection and fishing on permit basis is limited to the buffer area. Large scale catching of tiger prawn seeds causes reduction in mullet population of other fishes.
There is tremendous pressure for firewood and small timber in the area. Annually,
1000 ha. area in the buffer zone bearing a matured crop is operated upon to cater to the need of the people for firewood and small timber. The removal of trees is done by following the method of selection-cum-improvement felling, based on a 20-year felling cycle. 25 per cent of small wood and firewood extracted from the annual coupes are given to the local Panchyats and the rest of the produce is sold in the local market by the allottees. Tree farming programme on private land, village wood lots as well as roadside plantations and mangrove plantations raised on the mudflats of the numerous streams and rivers outside government forests help to meet the need of the local people for fuel wood and small timber, including building materials.
The habitat shows evidence of excessive felling in the past under huge pressure mounting from the fringe villages of the Sundarbans Tiger reserve. Timber smuggling is still a threat to this Tiger Reserve.
Killing of Tigers since 1990
Date of death
/Remarks
12.08.90 / At Dayapur, killed by villagers23.01.93 / Electrocution
05.01.94 / Detected by private launch floating in Sudhanyakali
26.09.94 / Dead tiger found in a paddy field at Hamnagar (Poisoning)
05.12.94 / Found in paddy field at Jamespur
03.08.95 / Killed by villagers near Central Satjelia School at Luxbagan
Human Population
There is no village inside the Reserve. Outside the Tiger Reserve, there are more than 1000 villages within the Sundarbans area, out of which around 100 villages are very close to the Reserve at its northern and northwestern fringe.
Livestock Population
There is no livestock in the Reserve.
Highways
National Waterways through Sundarbans: The proposed National waterways, if declared, through the mangrove forests of Sundarbans, particularly through the portion of Tiger Reserve, will affect the ecosystem adversely by large-scale human activities, dredging of streams and oil spills of numerous water crafts and vessels carrying cargo.
Diseases
There has been no incidence of epidemic.
Encroachment
There is no encroachment within the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve area. An attempt at encroachment was made in 1978 in the Jhila Block (Marichjhapadi) by the refugees from Bangladesh but the attempt was thwarted and the area was made free of the encroachers.
Others
High Vegetation Density in the Core: The vegetation in the core area is so congested at present that it is producing a negative impact on habitat condition, and causing the migration of both the predators and prey to the lesser crop-density areas for easy availability of food for herbivores and easy movement for both herbivores and the predators. Manipulation of crop density, therefore, appears to be necessary to create ideal habitat condition for the tiger and its prey animals.
Floods: Flood is a recurring phenomena in the Sundarbans region every year. The habitations are on reclaimed land, protected by embankments constructed along the river bank and the plan of such land is much below the level of tidal water. Almost every year, the area experiences cyclones and the swelling of turbulent rivers causes damages to such embankments, leading to inundation of the habitations at places.
Oil Spill: Oil spills from ships, trawlers and mechanised boats in the coastal areas cause immense damage to aquatic fauna and mangrove vegetation. Brackish water fisheries contribute to water pollution, adversely affecting the ecosystem.
Conflicts
Man-Animal
Man-eating propensity of Sundarbans tiger has been a great problem. This happens as a result of either an attack on the villagers entering the forest or by the tiger straying into human habitation. Numerous steps taken by the management have mitigated this problem to a large extent.
Man-Forest
Dire poverty urges the people of the Sundarbans to frequent the forest for sustenance. Some of them risk even the cyclones for fishing and others enter the forest to collect honey and fuel wood. The vulnerable mangrove ecosystem is under stress due to such interference.
Animal-Forest
Total protection of vegetation in the core area, without any manipulation of crop density, does not appear to create an ideal habitat condition for the tiger and its prey animals.
Tourism
Infrastructure and Facilities
Tourists are allowed in the buffer area. A tourist lodge at Sajnakhali has accommodation facilities for the tourists. Zilla Parishad, 24 North Parganas has also created accommodation facility at Hemnagar, close to the northern boundary of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve.
Number of Tourists Visiting the Reserve
Year / Tourists1992-93 / 25824
1993-94 / 23437
1994-95 / 41818
1995-96 / 45354
1996-97 / 35515
General Information
Area: 2585 sq. km.
Core: 1330 sq. km.
Buffer: 1255 sq km
Longitude: 88005’ and 89010’ East
Latitude: 21032’ and 22040’ North
Altitude: 5.8 m. to 6.1 m. above msl.
Rainfall: Average annual 1920 mm.
Temperature: Minimum: 20 0C
Maximum: 33.88 0C
Census
Tiger Population
Year / Number1992 / 251
1995 / 242
1997 / 256-270
Other Animal Population
Year / Animal / Population1989 / Deer / 30886
1993 / Deer / 30978
Wild boar / 11869
Rhesus macaque / 37691
Water monitor / 10272