Managing Sundarbans' resources sustainably

Though often touted as a protected landscape, the world's largest closed canopy mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, cannot be said to be entirely protected. In fact, the Sundarbans, is under severe ecological distress, thanks to its depredation by humans as well as the vagaries of Nature. The victims are not only the Bengal Tigers, but also the birds and other animal species including the river dolphins and waterfowls surviving in its aquatic environment. To save this forestland declared a UNESCO world heritage site as well as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention, Bangladesh and Germany are learnt to have reached two deals recently. The agreements so inked would reportedly ensure sustainable management of the Sundarbans and the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Swatch of No Ground (SONG). Notably, established in October 2014, the so-called 'Swatch of No Ground Marine Protected Area' is a reserve covering an area of 1,636 square kilometres and located 30 km away from the Dublar Char islands of the Sundarbans in the Bay of Bengal. It is a habitat of some endangered species of dolphin and whale.

A collaborative effort between the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) and the ministry of fisheries and livestock (MoEFL), the endeavour, also termed SONG project, as spelt out in the agreements, aims to strengthen marine conservation in Bangladesh by way of improving collaboration and capacity building  among responsible authorities and stakeholders. Understandably, the users of the Sundarbans' resources including fishermen, women and youth of the coastal communities living close to the MPA are among the stakeholders. As they are dependent on the Sundarbans for their sustenance, their participation is vital for what the project terms sustainable management of the Sundarbans and the MPA. But how can they possibly contribute effectively to the humongous task of protecting and managing the resources of the mangrove forest and the marine protected area while at the same time conserving their delicate ecosystems without the knowledge and skills required for the purpose? Here comes the question of developing their planning and surveillance capacities, skill of scientific monitoring and the ability of knowledge-based decision-making using digital tools. Once equipped with the required capacities and skills, it is expected that the coastal communities would be able to understand how they are inextricably linked to the Sundarbans and its MPA ecosystem and how they can thrive by way of proper management and conservation of the system.

As the neighbouring India does also share a portion of the Sundarbans, the strengthening of regional cooperation including financing is an imperative for sustainable management of the Sundarbans and restoration of the coastal ecosystem both in Bangladesh and India. To this end, a project styled, Sundar-BAY, is also learnt to be under implementation jointly by Bangladesh and India between March 2024 and February 2027 stressing public-private partnership between the two neighbours. As expected, this project will also focus on the conservation of the mangrove forest by providing ecosystem services to the local communities. Alongside building institutional capacity, promoting joint training programmes and providing environmental education, the SUNDAR-BAY project will also help initiate sustainable income generation activities among the local communities.

Both the projects will contribute towards meeting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those concerning conservation of biodiversity and natural resources. There is no denying that managing the resources of the Sundarbans including the marine protected area surrounding it sustainably is about meeting a major existential challenge for Bangladesh. A host of other projects are also working with similar objectives in the Sundarbans. What is important is that they should be in a synergy to come up with a positive outcome.