Sundarbans reopened for tourists

The three-month entry ban aimed to allow wild animals to breed is now over and both locals and international tourists can again visit Sundarbans. However, despite the official opinion and according to experts and environmentalists, the forest should be closed for visits on a permanent basis, so that its ecosystem develops properly.

Forest officer Dr Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain commented:

"Most of the animals in the Sundarbans breed during the monsoon season. The ban was imposed so that the wildlife does not face any kind of problem. The forest department did not issue any pass permit to anyone during this period."

As for now, Forest Department has issued more than 12,000 licence certificates for fishing in the area, as the lives of many locals in the coastal region depend on it.

Forester Abdus Sattar stated:

"Almost all the people of our village depend on the Sundarbans one way or another for their livelihood. I am getting permission to go into the Sundarbans again after three months of closure. So the fishermen of the village are busy repairing boats and nets.

"During the ban, we spent days without food. We have not been given any assistance by the government.”

Zahirul Islam Jewel, officer-in-charge of Kalabagi Forest Station in Sundarbans, also added:

"Fishermen will be allowed to collect fish and crabs from 1 September but the extraction of Golpata (Nipa Palm – a trunkless palm with tall erect leaves) and honey will remain suspended for now."

With the decision, more than 11 eco-tourism centres in Sundarbans expect their visitors, as the areas welcomes 205,000 visits each year.

"The tour operators had no work for three months. Now they have started advance booking", said Nazmul Azam David, general secretary of the Tour Operators' Association of Sundarbans.

And, as the animals roamed freely for three months, now with the opening of the season, as well as with the Golpata extraction, wildlife might be in danger, specialists fear. Honey collectors, fishermen, tourists, they all pose some kind of threat over the animals here. And according to experts, the forest should be left alone.

Ranjil Bawali, a forester from the Sundarbans, explained:

"Fishermen cut trees when they are in the forest. Some even hunt deer or fish with poison. Many of them were arrested by the forest department. But during bans, the forest restores itself. [...]

"Every year, when we go back to the forest after the ban, we see it in a new form. We see more fish in the canals, we hear more birds chirping. However, within a few days, the condition changes and the forest becomes lifeless.”

Sundarbans Academy Executive Director Professor Anwarul Qadir concluded:

"If resources are not systematically extracted from the forest, the normal ecosystem will be damaged.

"Foresters are allowed to extract resources after they pay revenue. The thought of collecting revenue from the Sundarbans should be discarded. The forest should be allowed to remain as a forest without any disturbance."

 

source: tbsnews.net