6 years ago
62
0
Posted On: March 1st 2021, 08:45 pm
Repost @viceindia @vice
Sunderban delta: the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to over three thousand “tiger widows”. That refers to women who lost their husbands to tiger attacks.
The forest stretches between Bangladesh in the east and India in the west and is prone to cyclones and floods. Over the years, the fish in freshwater rivers and creeks in the region have also declined because of pollution and rising sea levels.
“This is why local people, who are mostly fishermen and farmers, have to venture deeper into the forest, right into tiger territory for their livelihood, which is, catching fish, crab and collecting honey,” Pradip Chatterjee, president of the Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum, an association of the fishing community of south Bengal, told VICE World News.
“Three thousand tiger widows is a moderate estimate,” Chatterjee said, adding that there are multiple villages where every other house has a tiger widow.
But a single trip can bring up to 700 Indian rupees ($10) whereas an entire day of work as an agricultural labourer often nets only $3. But the shadow of death is a constant companion for the villagers who venture into prohibited areas.
Most don’t have permits. Chatterjee says that about 15,000 people have permits, but four times that number are found in forests. “They [villagers] don’t ask for compensation fearing legal action. They are even scared to report deaths,” he said.
The forest department has a critical task at hand. The mangroves are also one of the most critical habitats of the highly endangered Bengal tigers that are found only in the Indian subcontinent. With rising water levels, there are fears of escalating human-tiger conflict and a further decrease in their population.
The year 2020 was particularly severe. Since April, there have been at least 60 deaths, according to villagers.
Link in bio-
https://www.vice.com/en/article/3anw8n/tigers-killed-their-husbands-then-the-storms-came
#photojournalism #vice #people
Sunderban delta: the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to over three thousand “tiger widows”. That refers to women who lost their husbands to tiger attacks.
The forest stretches between Bangladesh in the east and India in the west and is prone to cyclones and floods. Over the years, the fish in freshwater rivers and creeks in the region have also declined because of pollution and rising sea levels.
“This is why local people, who are mostly fishermen and farmers, have to venture deeper into the forest, right into tiger territory for their livelihood, which is, catching fish, crab and collecting honey,” Pradip Chatterjee, president of the Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum, an association of the fishing community of south Bengal, told VICE World News.
“Three thousand tiger widows is a moderate estimate,” Chatterjee said, adding that there are multiple villages where every other house has a tiger widow.
But a single trip can bring up to 700 Indian rupees ($10) whereas an entire day of work as an agricultural labourer often nets only $3. But the shadow of death is a constant companion for the villagers who venture into prohibited areas.
Most don’t have permits. Chatterjee says that about 15,000 people have permits, but four times that number are found in forests. “They [villagers] don’t ask for compensation fearing legal action. They are even scared to report deaths,” he said.
The forest department has a critical task at hand. The mangroves are also one of the most critical habitats of the highly endangered Bengal tigers that are found only in the Indian subcontinent. With rising water levels, there are fears of escalating human-tiger conflict and a further decrease in their population.
The year 2020 was particularly severe. Since April, there have been at least 60 deaths, according to villagers.
Link in bio-
https://www.vice.com/en/article/3anw8n/tigers-killed-their-husbands-then-the-storms-came
#photojournalism #vice #people
More posts
