Sunderban takes up beekeeping to stop tiger attacks, will sell honey online

Kolkata: In a unique initiative by West Bengal Forest Department, the Sunderban honey is now available on popular e-commerce site Amazon. Every bottle of honey purchased contributes to the conservation of Sunderban Tigers, saving life of honey collectors and providing livelihood to forest fringe villagers. 

Initially, seventy two people from the Sunderban villages were encouraged to start apiculture by taking loans from West Bengal Cooperative Bank for purchasing bee boxes. During this lock down period, 37 tonnes of honey have been produced and are now ready for sale online at Rs 600/kg.

Sunderban consists of some hundred odd small islands. Half of them are inhabitable, rest are the habitat of Royal Bengal Tigers and covered with mangroves. The people of Sunderban have to depend on forest for their livelihood. 

This initiative has been taken by Forest Department to facilitate the livelihood of the Delta dwellers especially after the massive devastation by cyclone Amphan and to reduce man animal conflict. The traditional honey collectors go into the forest for collecting honey, crab and fishes. Sometimes they even venture into the prohibited area in the core zone of Sunderban risking their lives. Every year a number of incidents take place where the honey or crab collectors are attacked and killed by tigers. The Forest Department have been trying to provide them with alternate livelihood through joint forest management. 

Recently, the region was badly hit due to cyclone Amphan in which acres of agricultural land was ruined by saline water. While, in the last few months the COVID-19 situation has also had a negative impact in the lives of the people of Sunderban. Hundreds of migrant labourers came back home. 

In the present situation, the tendency to venture into dense forest for fire woods, honey or crab has increased. Several people were killed by tigers while collecting honey or crabs in the forest and narrow creek. Local Transportation is also suspended because of lockdown. It's difficult to sell the forest products they collect in these challenging times. The Forest Department is helping them to market Sunderban's famous mangrove honey and sell it through popular e-commerce site. 

The forest officials are hopeful that the apiculture and the selling of honey online will encourage more and more people to come on board. The compulsion for going into the forest, daring tigers and other animals will be reduced. A percentage of every bottle sold will be used in tiger conservation. Keeping the high demand of Sunderban honey in mind, they believe that it will attract the customers to buy honey online and get it delivered at doorsteps.