Post by account_disabled on Feb 20, 2024 3:16:40 GMT -4
Some people and tigers have died since in human-tiger conflicts in Bangladesh's Sundarbans.
Authorities here have decided to install fences along the rivers and canals that the big cats use to cross into human settlements.
Experts point to a successful implementation of this measure in the Indian Sundarbans, saying the fence will keep tigers out of human settlements and humans and their domestic animals out of tiger habitat.
Sundarbans is the only mangrove habitat in the world that supports tigers, but the ecosystem continues to degrade due to human and natural causes.
Bangladesh authorities have decided to install nylon net fencing in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest , to address human-tiger conflict and protect both communities and the endangered big cats .
The move is part of the Ba C Level Executive List ngladesh Forest Department's three-year Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project , launched in March , and aims to keep tigers and humans out of each other's spaces.
“Initially, we will erect polypropylene net fences for kilometers in the Sundarbans. And the work of installing net fencing will start taking shape next fiscal year -,” said project director Abu Naser Mohsin, who is also the divisional forest officer of Bangladesh's Western Sundarbans.
The Sundarbans, at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal, is the only mangrove habitat in the world where tigers ( Panthera tigris ) are found. But the ecosystem continues to degrade due to human and natural causes. The human population in the area is growing, with communities largely dependent on the forest for their livelihood. This makes the overexploitation of natural resources, land reclamation, pollution, fishing and agriculture among the main drivers of mangrove degradation.
Large swaths of the Sundarbans are also drying out as the rivers and canals that flow into it fill with sediment, allowing people to access parts of the mangrove forest they would not have been able to access before.
“People can easily enter the forest there to earn a living and locals often send their cattle and buffaloes to the Sundarbans to graze, attracting tigers to attack domestic animals,” Mohsin said.
The increasing proximity between tigers and humans also means that big cats are more exposed to diseases carried by domestic animals such as dogs, he added. In view of this, a net fence will be installed along the dry riverbeds and canals so that people and their domestic animals cannot enter the Sundarbans, Mohsin said.
Human-tiger conflicts on the rise
Tigers and humans have always managed an uneasy coexistence in the Sundarbans, but the overlap has intensified in recent years. In the early hours of January this year, two tigers crossed the Bhola River and wandered through part of Sonatala village in Bagerhat Municipality.
In that case, the tigers returned to the forest without any incident. In many other cases, however, terrified villagers attack and kill the tigers in their midst. For tigers, villages with their captive livestock are easy hunting grounds, and they frequently swim across rivers to reach these settlements, often at night.
According to the Forest Department, tigers in the Sundarbans have entered human settlements more than times in the last years, with casualties on both sides during these incidents. Forest Department data shows that tigers died in the Sundarbans between and .
However, Mohsin said some people and tigers have died in human-tiger conflicts since the turn of the century.
A survey revealed only tigers as the estimated tiger population in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans (the western part is administered by India). While that is marginally higher than the estimated in , it is a sharp drop from the estimated in
Poaching, human-tiger conflict and natural disasters have contributed to the rapid decline of big cats in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh's only natural tiger habitat.
Indian example shows that fences can help
In India's West Bengal state, which borders Bangladesh, Sundarbans National Park authorities have already installed nylon net fencing along a km stretch of mangroves. Since then, they have seen a dramatic drop in the reported number of tigers entering human settlements.
Authorities here have decided to install fences along the rivers and canals that the big cats use to cross into human settlements.
Experts point to a successful implementation of this measure in the Indian Sundarbans, saying the fence will keep tigers out of human settlements and humans and their domestic animals out of tiger habitat.
Sundarbans is the only mangrove habitat in the world that supports tigers, but the ecosystem continues to degrade due to human and natural causes.
Bangladesh authorities have decided to install nylon net fencing in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest , to address human-tiger conflict and protect both communities and the endangered big cats .
The move is part of the Ba C Level Executive List ngladesh Forest Department's three-year Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project , launched in March , and aims to keep tigers and humans out of each other's spaces.
“Initially, we will erect polypropylene net fences for kilometers in the Sundarbans. And the work of installing net fencing will start taking shape next fiscal year -,” said project director Abu Naser Mohsin, who is also the divisional forest officer of Bangladesh's Western Sundarbans.
The Sundarbans, at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal, is the only mangrove habitat in the world where tigers ( Panthera tigris ) are found. But the ecosystem continues to degrade due to human and natural causes. The human population in the area is growing, with communities largely dependent on the forest for their livelihood. This makes the overexploitation of natural resources, land reclamation, pollution, fishing and agriculture among the main drivers of mangrove degradation.
Large swaths of the Sundarbans are also drying out as the rivers and canals that flow into it fill with sediment, allowing people to access parts of the mangrove forest they would not have been able to access before.
“People can easily enter the forest there to earn a living and locals often send their cattle and buffaloes to the Sundarbans to graze, attracting tigers to attack domestic animals,” Mohsin said.
The increasing proximity between tigers and humans also means that big cats are more exposed to diseases carried by domestic animals such as dogs, he added. In view of this, a net fence will be installed along the dry riverbeds and canals so that people and their domestic animals cannot enter the Sundarbans, Mohsin said.
Human-tiger conflicts on the rise
Tigers and humans have always managed an uneasy coexistence in the Sundarbans, but the overlap has intensified in recent years. In the early hours of January this year, two tigers crossed the Bhola River and wandered through part of Sonatala village in Bagerhat Municipality.
In that case, the tigers returned to the forest without any incident. In many other cases, however, terrified villagers attack and kill the tigers in their midst. For tigers, villages with their captive livestock are easy hunting grounds, and they frequently swim across rivers to reach these settlements, often at night.
According to the Forest Department, tigers in the Sundarbans have entered human settlements more than times in the last years, with casualties on both sides during these incidents. Forest Department data shows that tigers died in the Sundarbans between and .
However, Mohsin said some people and tigers have died in human-tiger conflicts since the turn of the century.
A survey revealed only tigers as the estimated tiger population in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans (the western part is administered by India). While that is marginally higher than the estimated in , it is a sharp drop from the estimated in
Poaching, human-tiger conflict and natural disasters have contributed to the rapid decline of big cats in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh's only natural tiger habitat.
Indian example shows that fences can help
In India's West Bengal state, which borders Bangladesh, Sundarbans National Park authorities have already installed nylon net fencing along a km stretch of mangroves. Since then, they have seen a dramatic drop in the reported number of tigers entering human settlements.