Sunderbans gets the green light for new sanctuary

The Times of India 7 Feb 12;

KOLKATA: It seems the chief minister's dreams of making Sunderbans a tourism hotspot is fast taking shape.

Barely five days after Mamata Banerjee paid a two-day visit to the mangroves, the state bureaucrats - losing no further time - on Monday approved the formation of a new wildlife sanctuary in Sunderbans, the largest among all the sanctuaries it has now.

With tourism topping the agenda for the state foresters, it seems the proposal - doing the rounds since the last six months - was granted the go-ahead keeping in mind more tourist footfalls in the delta. It may be noted that the Sunderbans gets around 30,000 to 40,000 tourists a year and the numbers are expected to will only go up once the new sanctuary - West Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary - becomes operational.

However, the foresters cited are citing a 'better management' as their prime focus for creation of the forest park. "Not only tourism, the 462 square kilometers which will be demarcated as the new sanctuary, will come under better management," said Pradeep Vyas, director, Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve.

Though the state wildlife advisory board has cleared the proposal, some administrative paperwork needs to be completed. are now in the line.

According to an official, the proposal will now be notified under section 18 of the Wildlife Protection Act for the time being. The rights and concession issues will then be taken into account before the final notification is given under section 26A of the same act.

The new wildlife sanctuary in the mangroves will cover Dhulibhashani 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 and Chulkathi 1 to 8 compartments.

"The proposed sanctuary will have Dhulibhashani 1 to its north, Bay of Bengal to its south and rivers Matla and Thakuran to its east and west respectively," said the official, adding that while 224.26 square kilometres will fall under Dhulibhashani, 238.13 square kilometres will come under Chulkathi.

The existing sanctuaries in the mangroves are Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary, covering an area of over 362 square kilometres, Lothian Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over 38 square kilometres area and Haliday covering six square kilometers.

A state wildlife board member said the new sanctuary will restrict illegal entry into the forests. "We will issue fresh boat licence certificates (BLCs) to the fishermen who will venture out for fishing in the area," said Vyas. At present, 3,500 licences are given to boat owners in South 24-Parganas forest division and 960 BLCs are issued under Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR).

A section of wildlife experts is worried about the infrastructure for proper maintenance of the sanctuary. "Right now, the forest department is functioning with only 50% of sanctioned staff strength," said a forest department official. According to Vyas, the department now has 300 staffers, of which 175 are frontline staffers associated with the protection of the forests. "We are planning to set up a protection camp near Chulkathi soon. Additional staff at the level of forest guard will also be recruited," he said adding that recently installed camera traps have captured four different adult tigers in Chulkathi in the last four days. "This shows the area has tigers and needs a detailed management plan so that the wildlife can be protected."

Meanwhile, Gorumara sanctuary in north Bengal will soon have pygmy hogg - an endangered species of small pigs that inhabit the north-eastern forests. Successfully bred in captivity at Assam's Manas sanctuary, the hoggs will be relocated at Gorumara and three other locations in the state.