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The research demonstrates that doubling the number of tigers as Bangladesh pledged at the 2010 'Tiger Summit' is impossible without restoring the Sundarbans' intact habitat and ecological balance. The research identifies the barriers to tiger conservation in Bangladesh's Sundarbans. Last, a number of conservation strategies are put forward, including adopting a cross-border conservation plan and preserving the habitat in its natural state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sundarban is the only tiger inhabited mangrove forest on the globe which is threatened by severe coastal erosion due to relative sea level rise. Effects of climate change events including increased atmospheric temperature, changes in rainfall patterns, drinking water scarcity, reduced agriculture productivity, declining fish catch, increased salinity and extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones and tidal surge, are likely to have profound adverse impacts on the estuarine biodiversity and livelihoods of inhabitants of the region. Tigers in Sundarbans stray into the neighbouring villages during low tide to prey upon cows and goats. Obviously, all these phenomenon leads to a daily survival battle for the inhabitants. To address these issues, Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) practices are essential and is being implemented in Sagar Island and Gosaba Island of Sundarbans through ICZM project, funded by the World Bank. The alternative livelihood programme for coastal fishermen community of the Sundarbans Islands, income generation activities, encouraging salt tolerant paddy cultivation, establishment of rainwater harvesting system, construction of multipurpose cyclone shelters, and strengthening of the nylon fencing in Tiger Reserve Forest etc. are recommended for the sustainable development of the Sundarbans. An area specific approach or regional plan for Sundarbans is essential, as they have specific problems such as Tiger straying, seawater intrusion, erosion of embankments etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the range of people involved in killing tigers Panthera tigris in the Bangladesh Sundarbans, their motives and methods, and their links to the commercial trade. Using snowball sampling we conducted 141 qualitative interviews with local people. We identified five categories (village residents, poachers, shikaris, trappers and pirates), each with different motives, methods and networks. Village residents kill tigers predominantly for safety, whereas others kill in the forest professionally or opportunistically. Poachers kill tigers for money, but for others the motives are more complex. The motives of local hunters are multifaceted, encompassing excitement, profit, and esteem and status arising from providing tiger parts for local medicine. Pirates kill tigers for profit and safety but also as a protection service to the community. The emerging international trade in tiger bones, introduced to the area by non-local Bangladeshi traders, provides opportunities to sell tiger parts in the commercial trade and is a motive for tiger killing across all groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay foregrounds the Sundarbans, a littoral zone in India that moves between sea and land and is a site of global history. It studies the pantheon of divinities, especially Bonbibi (Lady of the Forest), a mythical figure of Muslim origin. Such deities are worshipped by both Hindus and Muslims exclusively in the Sundarbans (Beautiful Forest) that straddles the state of West Bengal (India) and the nation-state of Bangladesh. It demonstrates how the Sundarbans, during Islamisation in the medieval era actively adapted, as against passively adopting, the global faith of Islam to suit the local needs of the people there. The result was a religious worldview that was not quite Islamic, but not quite Hindu either, but rather a singular faith system unique to the region and suited to meet the needs of the people there. And because this faith system does not conform to the orthodox beliefs of either Hinduism or Islam, it can accurately be described as a heterodox pantheon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explored the local medicinal and traditional values of tiger parts and associated beliefs, and its link to the commercial trade in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews with 139 respondents, we found that the local use of, and belief in, the medicinal values of tiger parts is widespread and that virtually all parts of the tiger are used. Some of the local uses of tiger parts were unique in both the way and the purpose of use. For example, the soil of tiger pugmark was consumed by the women as a means of contraception. We established that local usage may be a significant threat to the tiger population of south Asia as it motivates stray tiger killing for collecting tiger parts for both local use and commercial demand, and provides the opportunities for poachers and the commercial trade to flourish. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The forests of the Sundarbans, located in the southernmost parts of West Bengal in India and south-western Bangladesh, remain synonymous with the Royal Bengal Tiger and, to some extent, the mangrove forests unique to South Asia. The principal strands in the story of the region centre around the contest between the tiger and the forest dweller—in other words, the conflict between and co-existence of man and nature. This struggle took the form of reclamation and of putting the forests to the plough. Down the ages there have been several efforts to reclaim forests and set up human habitation in this region. Before the advent of British rule in India most were individual efforts. Those made during British rule were largely successful in bringing in people of various origins into the region. Despite the slow pace of development compared to the rest of Bengal, the face of the Sundarbans then changed forever. Changes in settlement patterns and the stratification of society led to changes in human relations. The region suffered denudation and deforestation. In fact, ultimately as social stratification increased and exploitation intensified, tensions exploded in the form of the Tebhaga movement (1946). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Basic information required to conserve wild tigers Panthera tigris is lacking for the Bangladesh Sundarbans. The objectives of this study were therefore to estimate tiger home range size and obtain information on movement. Two adult female tigers were captured in the south-east of the Sundarbans and fitted with global positioning system collars. Mean home range sizes for the two tigers estimated with 95% minimum convex polygon and fixed kernel methods were 12.3 and 14.2 km2, respectively. A mean female home range size of 14.2 km2 would indicate a density for the south-east Sundarbans of seven adult females per 100 km2. The maximum distance moved by a tiger in 1 day was 11.3 km. Although preliminary these home range estimates indicate that the Sundarbans of Bangladesh has good quality tiger habitat relative to other tiger landscapes, highlighting the value of this mangrove ecosystem for the survival of this Endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts were taken to reduce tiger-human conflict in and around the Sundarbans, Bangladesh, from August 2005 to January 2007 using domestic dogs. Keeping one tethered dog with each group of people working in the mangrove forest was found to be effective in reducing the risk of being attacked by tigers Panthera tigris. The dogs warned people of the presence of tiger. The responses of 40 dogs were recorded and verified and it was found that the dogs could detect the presence of any nearby sizeable wild animal with a success rate of 92% but they could not always distinguish tiger from wild boar Sus scrofa or spotted deer Axis axis . Success rate in distinguishing the tiger was 62%. The dogs were particularly useful for honey gatherers because when they smoke the honeycomb visibility becomes poor and they become more vulnerable to attack by tigers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]