The tiger census in the Sundarbans, which was scheduled to begin in October and got delayed for slow pace in fund approval, is expected to begin in the beginning of the next year, said officials at the Forest Department.
The Planning Commission approved the allocation last week, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sundarsbans west zone and project director Abu Naser Mohsin told UNB. “Now we can get the money once the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry releasesthe fund. Efforts are underway for quick disbursement of the fund,” he said.
According to the Forest Department, the ‘Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project’ was approved in March this year with an estimated cost of Tk 35.93 crore and counting tigers at a cost of Tk 3.26 crore is a part of the project. This project work was scheduled to start this month, but it fell into uncertainty as the Planning Commission delayed to give its nod for fund allocation for counting tigers.
Tiger counting will start upon release of the fund but it is not possible to tell exactly how much time will be required for the work of the Ministry, said the project director. Under the current project, 200 specialised cameras will be used. Moreover, some 90 cameras used in the 2018 census will also be utilised, said Mohsin.
Other activities in the project would include the training of 340 members of 49 village response teams and 185 members of community patrolling groups. “At least two tigers will be fitted with satellite collars, which will help us monitor parasite attacks on them and diseases. We will collect this data, analyse and publish a report as part of the project,” said the forest official.
Two observatory towers will also be established and firefighting equipment and drones will be used under the project as every year some tiger habitats get destroyed in sudden forest fires during the dry season, he said. A 60km-long fencing will be raised along the villages adjacent to the forest areas as tigers often sneak into human habitats, according to the forest department.
Twelve mud fortresses will also be built in the forest areas where wild animals can take refuge during natural calamities like cyclones. “The project has a provision for temporary appointment of 12 expert consultants for conducting training, survey, data collection, analysis and preparing reports. Also, all the research and survey work under the project will be recorded as a documentary,” said Mohsin.
According to the last census in 2018, there were 114 tigers in the Sundarbans. The figure was 106 in 2015. After 2017-18 no tiger census was conducted in the forest which is the only habitat of Royal Bengal Tigers in Bangladesh. On March 23, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change gave its nod to the project.
In the light of Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan (2009-2017), 2010 World Tiger Conference commitments, Second Tiger Action Plan (2016-2027) and Global Tiger Forum decisions, the Ministry approved the Tiger Conservation Project aiming to collect updated information on tigers in the country and to preserve and increase the number of tigers in the Sundarbans.
