Sundarban Bangladesh

Sundarban

The Sunderbans' fragile mangrove eco-system is threatened by biotic pressure, and man-animal conflicts regularly occur. To support conservation efforts and create alternative livelihood measures a tourism model project named Sunderbans Jungle Camp was initiated. In 2007, the Camp was a finalist of the “Tourism for Tomorrow Award” in the Investor in People category, designated by World Travel and Tourism Council. The Camp is located at Bali Island, 24 Parganas South, West Bengal, India, in immediate vicinity to the Sunderbans Nationalpark area.
The Sunderbans are a network of waterways and islands in the vast river delta formed by Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. Around the settlements on the inhabited islands, the landscape is characterised by agriculture and fishery activities. The uninhabited areas contain dense impenetrable mangrove forest pervaded by creeks and rivers. The climate of the region is humid with average temperature ranging from 20°C to 34°C. Best time to visit is from mid-September until mid-March. The Monsoon season is from mid-June until mid-September, and heavy storms can occur in May and October  and November. Big portions of the Sunderbans are protected by the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tiger Reserve, Nationalpark, Biosphere Reserve, and Reserve Forest. The Camp consists of six well-equipped bungalows and a dining hall in ethnic style. Overlooking the pond, a fisherman's deck invites guests to enjoy the silent atmosphere. A Nature Interpretation Center provides deeper insight into the ecosystem and its stories. The Camp has dedicated boats for river cruises and transport. 18 permanent local staff cater for the guests well-being. Trained guides are available for Nationalpark excursions and villages walks, and for country boat excursions fishermen are hired from the near-by villages. The Sunderbans are a paradise for seafood lovers. Crabs, prawns, and fish are purchased out of the fishermen's net. Fresh vegetables, fruits and bio-organic rice are always on the table, when the cook introduces you to the fantastic taste of the authentic Bengali cuisine. In the evenings be introduced to Bonobibi, the Jungle Goddess. Dukhe Yathra, the story of a small boy being exposed to the wilderness of the Sunderbans, is a colorful spectacle performed by a group of local villagers. The tradition of this theatre play was almost lost until the Camp offered an opportunity for this valuable part of the Sunderbans' culture to revive. To keep your memory of the Sunderbans remain longer we advise you to carry some Modhu, the famous mangrove honey. The Jungle Camp supports a number of social development programmes. Regularly, a medical treatment camp is organised for the islanders. Book and garment banks have been installed, and an evening school was erected. Moreover, several monitoring studies have been initiated, such as on Climate Change, Lesser Cats, and Migratory Water Fowls. Bali Nature and Wildlife Conservation Society, West Bengal Forest Department, WWF India West Bengal Office, Wildlife Protection Society of India, Bali Eco-Development Committee are cooperation partners of the Jungle Camp.

History of sundarban

The history of the area can be traced back to 200–300 AD. A ruin of a city built by Chand Sadagar has been found in the Baghmara Forest Block. During the Mughal period, the Mughal Kings leased the forests of the Sundarbans to nearby residents. Many criminals took refuge in the Sundarbans from the advancing armies of Emperor Akbar. Many have been known to be attacked by tigers.Many of the buildings which were built by them later fell to hands of Portuguese pirates, salt smuglers and dacoits in the 17th century. Evidence of the fact can be traced from the ruins at Netidhopani and other places scattered all over Sundarbans. The legal status of the forests underwent a series of changes, including the distinction of being the first mangrove forest in the world to be brought under scientific management. The area was mapped first in Persian, by the Surveyor General as early as 1764 following soon after proprietary rights were obtained from the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II by the British East India Company in 1757. Systematic management of this forest tract started in the 1860s after the establishment of a Forest Department in the Province of Bengal, in British India. The management was entirely designed to extract whatever treasures were available, but labour and lower management mostly were staffed by locals, as the British had no expertise or adaptation experience in mangrove forests.

The first Forest Management Division to have jurisdiction over the Sundarbans was established in 1869. In 1875 a large portion of the mangrove forests was declared as reserved forests under the Forest Act, 1865 (Act VIII of 1865). The remaining portions of the forests were declared a reserve forest the following year and the forest, which was so far administered by the civil administration district, was placed under the control of the Forest Department. A Forest Division, which is the basic forest management and administration unit, was created in 1879 with the headquarters in Khulna, Bangladesh. The first management plan was written for the period 1893–98.

In 1911, it was described as a tract of waste country which had never been surveyed nor had the census been extended to it. It then stretched for about 266 kilometres (165 mi) from the mouth of the Hugli to the mouth of the Meghna river and was bordered inland by the three settled districts of the 24 Parganas, Khulna and Bakerganj. The total area (including water) was estimated at 16,900 square kilometres (6,526 sq mi). It was a water-logged jungle, in which tigers and other wild beasts abounded. Attempts at reclamation had not been very successful. The Sundarbans was everywhere intersected by river channels and creeks, some of which afforded water communication throughout the Bengal region both for steamers and for native ships.