This study firstly tries to quantify the horror of human-tiger conflicts with special emphasis on the impact of COVID pandemic lockdown on Sundarbans. Secondly, identify the spatial occurrences of conflict hazards particularly since 2020. COVID lockdown and associated social, economic and cultural changes have been registered more than three dozen tiger conflict related human losses in the Indian part of Sundarbans. Undoubtedly in almost every cases human-tiger conflicts occurred on riverside adjacent to reserve forest areas at the time of crab collection or fishing. All attacks mostly happened when over enthusiastic as well as desperate or unmindful tired fishermen were captivated with collection of crabs or prawns or fishes without traditional understanding and common realization of forest. This is the situation which demands traditional knowledge base understanding and participant's responses in Sundarbans forest areas. Jhila forest area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (STR) is the pivot center of tiger attacks on human being in Indian part of Sundarbans. It is around 150 km from Kolkata, capital of West Bengal comprises several compartments and closely located with islands of Kumirmari, Kalidaspur and Hetalbari of Gosaba community block. The nearest habitation of Jhila forest area is a settlement around thirty thousand people. Harinbhanga, Raimangalrivers and many other small-big creeks crisscrossed the forest area which partly extends up to Bangladesh border. The Jhila area is a part of buffer zone but tiger concentration is very high here. People from surrounding villages have generally used the creeks and khals around it for fishing and crab collection. That is why human killed by tiger attacks are mostly located in and around Jhila for a long period. According to Das, 2017 the Jhila forest area alone observed 21% of the total deaths related with human-tiger conflict in between1985 to 2009. All types of fishing, crab collection and associated other activities are annually prohibited in the breeding session of fishes, from 15th April to 15th June in the Indian part of Sundarbans. Except this, after several casualties in 2020-21 West Bengal Forest Department was in compulsion of reducing human-tiger conflicts in the Jhila area and as an urgent obligation forest department imposed a ban on fishing and other economic activities inside Jhila forest buffer zone area for both legally permitted boat license certificate holders and rest of the local people. According to the primary survey of the researcher in October-December, 2021 all the villages around Jhila forest area, very close to Sundarban Tiger Reserve were severely affected by Cyclone Alia in 2009 and Amphan in 2020 (Fig. 3). The seasonal cyclonic storms and floods have led to the very long submergence of agricultural lands and inundation of sweet water ponds with saline water for several seasons. Agriculture is the main occupation of Sundarban's people. In one hand the scope of immediate restoration of farmlands are very minimal and in other hand tens of thousands of migrant labors had returned to the islands of Sundarbans in the COVID pandemic period and they had no other alternatives to turn to the forests for their livelihood. Kalidaspur in one of the forest dependent village in Chhota Mollakhali Gram Panchayet in Gosaba block which is very close to Jhila forest area. It has more than 1300 families with 6000 population. Nearly 65% are Schedule Caste population and only 5% of the total population are privileged with land ownership or co-ownership. This is the ground reality that three fourths of the families are dependent on the forest but there are less than two dozen government permitted boat license holders for forest journey. Only15 to 20 percent of tiger victim's family used fishing boat as owner, it suggests that the majority of forest dependent people are used to borrow or rent boats from others (Chatterjee et al. 2022). The common people are very much aware of the ban or prohibition of forest or aquatic resources collection from the most vulnerable area of human-tiger conflict in Sundarbans. It is not only pandemic indeed challenges but also they have generally no other livelihood options. The situation commands their helpless movement into the territories of Royal Bengal Tiger again and again.
It is a very regular cry in every corner of Sundarbans that the death figures provided by the concerned administrative authorities of forest department of West Bengal are not properly documented as well as incomprehensive due to lack of communication. The village people and forest workers posted in ground level duties has a consensus on some major coordination problems including human death occurrences due to tiger attacks in core area and the timely reporting in forest department (Sen 2019). According to the socio-cultural understanding of the forest communities there are lots of abuse and rumors after the identification of areas of tiger attacks and the concerned people faces some kind of social isolation and the family experiences panic of stigma. So many socio-cultural things are also associated with the claiming compensation and documentation of hazard consequences in local administrative level like religious belief, family rituals or community culture about the place, time and situation of accidents. Bonobibi is the iconic lady protector goddess of forest, worshipping by both Hindu and Muslim religions in their own manner. It is an integral part of their social faith and cultural practices associated with their existence in Sundarbans. There are several realization correlated with the traditional understanding about tiger attacks and the movement of the wild king. Experienced fishermen or honey collectors are used to prefer parabolic movement rather than linear movement of their team members in the forest. Tiger attacks in Sundarbans are more usual from right side and the victim is generally the most unmindful man or women of the team according to the experienced forest people. For last few years a group of people removed the tiger fencing of reserve forest unwisely to catch crab or collect honey. They are not at all aware about the changing geo-ecological profile of tiger territories after recent severe cyclones. Loss of mangroves as well as land erosion enhances tiger straying in nearest human habitation. Experienced people use to trace tigers location calculating their breeding time in coolest months from November onwards or gestation period accordingly and departed the animal as per traditional practices or released back to their territories with the help of forest department. According to Mr. Anurag Danda, Director of WWF's Project Sundarbans the human-tiger conflict in Sundarbans is dynamic in nature. Since early 2020 more and more people started ventures in and around the reserve forest area, specifically a large number of people who are migrating workers now participated in the forest journey who had stopped going to forest long ago. The crowding of unskilled and unaware people around tiger territories increased the number of tiger attacks (Primary Survey, March, 2022). It is no doubt that except some geo-ecological factors like climate change, land loss, destruction of mangroves. There are many socio-cultural factors also have a significant role as deciding factors of human-tiger conflicts. This is the outcome of primary survey on the study area from June, 2019 to June, 2022 (Fig. 3).
Table 3
Perceptional Survey outcomes on the human-tiger conflicts in Sundarbans.
Parameter related with human-tiger conflict | Respondent groups on the causes of human-tiger conflict |
Young (Below 40 yrs.) | Middle aged (40–60 yrs.) | Senior citizen (Above 60 yrs.) |
1) Time of forest visit (withorwithout permission) | Early morning(It is now all season journey) | Early morning hours to midday (not prefers monsoon) | Early morning and afternoon, avoid morning and night (Prefers September to March) |
Researcher's remarks: Mostly villagers venture out very early morning for forest to avoid forest department patrol boats and midday heat wave in their waterways journey. |
2) Substrate of victim | Recently tiger attacks boats also. Tiger attacks everywhere. | Rarely tiger attacks when people are on water. | Riverside mudflat at the time of crab collection or within the forest at the time of honey collection |
Researcher's remarks: Forest ventures are generally 7–10 days programme. They are tired and not so alart after 2–3 days. Tiger attacks are mostly recorded on land area. Recently riverside mud-tract, soft clay areas are trapped for human being. |
3) Position of victim at the time of tiger attack | Standing on ground or crouching position on boat when rested | Standing position is more vulnerable then lying or sitting position | Standing position or leaning over on ground |
Researcher's remarks: Recent tiger attacks are very much common when people are sitting and crunching on boat when anchored, but generally slow and hauled movement on river side or in forest attacks tiger. |
4) Occupational status of victims | Now only crab collectors are mostly exposed to tiger attacks | Fish collection, crab collection are now tiger attack prone | Crab collection and honey Collection; Lumbering and honey collectors are now minimum. |
Researcher's remarks : With the march of time prawn collection, honey collection are not so popular in forest. Fishing is now mostly concentrated in and around core area of Sundarbans. Crab collection is now most exposed to tiger attacks because of its spatial distribution and more concentration in tiger territories. |
5) Nature and pattern of teams of tiger victims | Fishing or crab collection groups are now smaller because of business orientation. | Forest teams are mostly unskilled; team size are related with locational ventures and purposeful journey. | Small 3–4 people crab collection groups are now popular as well as more vulnerable. Big groups for honey collections are safer. |
Researcher's remarks: Most forest based livelihoods are always undertaken in groups; individual journey is not at all possible here. Crab collection which is now more tiger attack prone requires less people because its financial returns is much higher than any other forest resources. |
6) Socio-economic support needs | Proper compensation for tiger widows without legal obligations; expectation for new occupation in locality | Expectalternative occupation for next generation; expects proper government compensation and benefits of government schemes at ground level in villages. | Social stigma is a major Problem. Family actually practice partial fasting. Need support from neighbors at the time of venture. |
7) Cultural-civic support needs | Medical support in all police stations and primary health centers for tiger victims | Need training or guidelines for boat license holders for locational understanding and area of alert. | Forest based resources decreases, changing climate and landscape are threat for all. Need viable alternatives. |
Source: Primary Survey by Author himself in study area, June, 2019 to June, 2022. |
4.1. Findings of Regression Analysis
The findings of regression analysis associated with the consequences of human-tiger conflicts from study area are shown in Table 4 and Fig. 4. Holistically education, income sustainability and family culture are found to be most significant attributes for the assessment of nature and pattern of human-tiger conflicts as well as services to ecosystem in today’s Sundarbans (Sandifer et al. 2015). For example there are various cases of female death due to tiger attacks at the time of fishing in several parts of Sundarbans are recorded every year but according to Census 2011 female literacy rate of Kultali (59%), Basanti (60%), Gosaba (71%), Mathurapur II (61%) clearly justified that there are lack of community consciousness about ecosystem of Sundarbans because of dispassionate educational attainments (Iqbal 2020).
According to Salam et al. 2000 overall income stability and occupational satisfaction support the issue of a sustainable ecosystem and reducing human dependency on forest resources. Only 8.09% people of the selected villages of study area (with regular experiences of forest ventures and human-tiger conflicts) has enjoyed ownership or co-ownership of agricultural lands. Most of them are seasonal workers or marginal workers. The observation is same in selected river side villages of study area where tiger straying is very regular. It is only 9.64% agricultural land ownership or co-ownership by the concerned village people. Employment status is another very effective factor which promotes resilient against unwise forest journeys. Unemployment status of selected villages with regular casualties for tiger attacks are more than 50% in average (50.63%) and it is more than 55% (55.43%) in the selected river side villages of study area with regular tiger straying. The average land holding of the study area was less than 0.5 acre and truly insufficient to generate new employment as well as other income opportunities. Even most of the victim families were dependent on rented boat for their forest journeys. Only 15% of the surveyed individuals owned well prepared boats for secured waterways journey for a minimum week. However according to our considering cases 90% of them were located in and around core area of Sundarbans (n = 25). It is a proverb of Indian Sundarbans that ‘where there are tigers, there are fish’ (Bagh jekhane, Mach sekhane in local Bengali language). It is a known fact that after the devastation of cyclone Aila in 2009 the nylon net barrier was put in place across a major part of fringes of reserve forest to prevent tiger intrusions in adjacent river side villages and the process was mostly recurring. As Sundarbans is the worst affected part of India by tropical cyclones there were regular disintegration of fence barriers for tigers after Bulbul cyclone in 2019 and it was a regular practice of a group of desperate people in COVID lockdown to dislodge it for easier access to forest resources. Another interesting part of the analysis is the caste character of victim areas. Average 73.13% people are schedule caste where regular tiger victims are very common. Around 88% were male victims according to this study cases with a family status of below poverty line as per classification of Government of India (lessthanRs6,400 income per month in rural India). And more specifically 88% of the victims were representing the schedule caste and other backward class community. It was a distinctive finding from the village survey that the major section of Schedule tribes are not interested in forest ventures for collection of resources compare to other communities and it was one of the significant cause of minimum tiger attacks related death reporting from this ethnic group.
Table 4
Correlation between casualties due to Human-tiger conflicts and other independent variables in selected villages of Study Area
Geographical and Socio-cultural variables | Coefficient of Variation |
1.Access to forest areas for the collection of economic resources | 0.765 |
2.Population Scenario | –0.599 |
3.Agricultural land ownership or co-ownership status | 0.965 |
4.Unemployment status/ | –0.450 |
5.Scheduled Caste population | 0.812 |
Source: Calculated by Author. |
There is a very strong relationship between some very important variables and casualties due to man-tiger conflicts and others factors like economic vulnerability, cultural practices and accessibility to forest areas. Most of the village people are poor as well as marginal and seasonal workers. Increasing population and pre dominance of a very small section of people over the agricultural lands are one of the major causes of dependency on forest resources. Location benefit like adjacent riverside forest is another cause of popular as well as lucrative practice of forest ventures. It is very common result that access to forest areas and casualties due to man-tiger conflicts are very significantly related. Schedule Caste people are pre dominant in major part of Sundarbans. It is obvious that they are not only socio-culturally backward for various historical reasons but also traditionally dependent on forest resources collections. They are naturally more exposed to tiger attacks in almost every corners of the study area. Comparatively there are weak relationships between concentration of population as well as unemployment status and human-tiger conflict hazards and casualties. Because there are regular migration from the villages of Sundarbans and a section of people are now enjoying assured income through various government schemes and empowered with new socio-political practices at village level. This survey justified the fact that socio-culturally downtrodden people are now more exposed to vulnerability of human-tiger conflicts. It is now very much clear from the regression analysis that there is a close relationship between location scenario of villages and death due to tiger attacks. This is obvious because the possibilities of tiger attacks as well as tiger straying or conflicts are more in the surrounding settlements of reserve forest areas of Sundarbans. Encounters with tigers are more common in the closely located islands in the periphery of core as well as sensitive buffer forest areas. Lahiripur and Satjelia villages of Gosaba block has experienced 84% of total casualties related with tiger attacks as per this case study. The adjoining rivers of these two villages Melmel and Gomor are highly vulnerable due to its location associated with tiger prone reserve forest and its short connectivity between wild and human areas. Unemployment percentage is around 50% but pseudo employment like various seasonal and project base Panchayet programs were also another issue for concern. Physically disabled persons and psychologically distressed persons associated with the consequences of human-tiger conflict are effectively dominant in these areas compare to other areas of Gosaba block (Chowdhury et al. 2008). Some parts of Kultali are still vulnerable as tiger straying is frequent and the possibility of human-tiger conflict is much higher than surrounding areas. Deulbari, Dongajora, Bhuvaneswari are the areas of human-tiger conflicts due to closeness with nearest buffer forest area. Poverty, agricultural unstability, very poor scope of other employment opportunities and unskilled as well as culturally committed schedule caste people plays crucial role in the local scenario of human-tiger conflict. Average unemployment status of study area in Kultali was around 52% and the agricultural land ownership which presents stable economic support was just about6%.Therefore the relationships has justified the fact that local people’s dependency on forest as well as aquatic resources and their unskilled, unexposed and marginally educated cultural life based on community practices are the major reasons for increasing human-tiger conflict particularly within and after COVID pandemic lockdown period. People are very now very easy target of Sundarbans Tiger as per popular experiences of study areas. Economic empowerment and cultural orientation are the only way for a justified solution of the hazard of human- tiger conflict.
4.2. Spatial distribution of conflicted villages
Geographical location map and human-tiger conflict village localities in the study areas are presented in Figs. 1 and 2. There are some simplifications related to this presentation. Overall these maps indicate that the human-tiger conflict hotspots are confined to the south-central Sundarbans. Pivot point of the human-tiger conflict is south-eastern part of Gosaba block comprising 11 villages like Dayapur, Lahiripur, Satjelia, Hamilton Abad, luxbagan, Rajat Jubilee etc. mostly surrounded by Sudhanyakhali-Pirkhali forest (buffer area) and Jhila (core area and partly buffer area).