Indiscriminate cutting of Mangrove trees creating havoc in West Bengal's Sundarbans

Indiscriminate cutting of Mangrove trees due to prawn culture and fishing by a section of local communities is creating havoc in the Sundarbans – the largest continuous mangrove forest in the world along the Bay of Bengal say environmentalists.

For decades, the mangrove belt of Sundarbans has witnessed cutting of mangrove tress by  a section of local communities in certain areas especially in the reserve forests administered by two districts - North and South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Experts say that local communities are increasingly engaging in prawn culture and fishing in these areas.

Spanning more than 10,000 square kilometres, the Sundarbans region of Bangladesh and India is the biggest mangrove forest in the world and also the most critical area for Bengal tiger survival. Sprawled out across 6,017 square kilometers, the Bangladesh side of the forest covers nearly 60 percent of the total area of the Sundarbans. The rest is in India in the state of West Bengal.

A recent incident has brought to light how the Mangrove trees were being cut at Basanti block’s Bharatgarh gram panchayat’s Anandabad area. The trees were being felled for over a week before authorities got to know of the matter.

In the first week of February, police officials went for a surprise raid at the spot and saw a JCB machine cutting Mangrove trees. While most people managed to flee the spot, the JCB driver was apprehended.

A few years ago, Mangrove saplings were planted by West Bengal Forest Department at Sundarban’s Maheshpur and Anandabad area to maintain the ecological balance in the area.  In recent times, these areas have witnessed widescape cutting of Mangrove trees.

According to environmentalist Subhas Dutta, the main reason behind the cutting of Mangrove trees is that the section of local communities engaging in prawn culture and fishing. He also highlighted that the West Bengal government has completely failed to discourage these local communities. “The West Bengal government has done nothing to prevent the cutting of Mangrove trees in these areas. Even the National Green Tribunal is yet to act on this problem. We are also aware that some people affiliated to the ruling party in the state are encouraging these practices,” said Dutta.

He further added, “This problem has created havoc for the Sundarbans. The Geography of Sundarbans will soon become a history if not paid attention now. This cannot go on for years altogether. Government agencies, NGT and local leadership must all come together to protect the Mangrove forests of Sundarbans.”

While calls made to the state forest minister Rajib Banerjee remained unanswered, an official of the forest department said that the ministry was aware of the illegal practices that took place in the Basanti block of Sundarbans and have initiated action. “This practice was going on for several years now. The state government had managed to arrest it. But, recently we are told that the cutting of Mangrove trees have begun again. We have ordered strictest action against those who violated norms and we will ensure no trees are further cut in the area,” said a senior official of Forest Department who refused to be named.

Recently, India’s eastern states – West Bengal and Odisha, and neighbouring Bangladesh were hit by a cyclone Bulbul in 2019. While the cyclone caused loss of life and damage to property and displacing millions, the Mangroves of Sundarbans stood strong preventing far worse devastation.

“If we want the Mangroves to protect us from cyclones the decline in numbers because of cutting of trees might cause widescale damage in future,” Dutta added.