Forest officials cite manpower shortages and difficult terrain as coastal communities say lost income, household hardship and piracy fears are complicating enforcement of the Sundarbans closure.
Forty-four people have been arrested in 80 days for entering the Sundarbans in defiance of a three-month ban imposed to protect wildlife and biodiversity, local forest officials said.
The ban, in force from June 1 to August 31 this year, suspends all resource extraction and ecotourism activities in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest shared by Bangladesh and India.
During the restriction period, fishermen, woodcutters, honey collectors and tourists are not allowed to enter the forest. But people are still going in, driven by the need to feed their families, with fishermen being arrested while catching fish and crabs.
The local Forest Department also acknowledges that even as patrols continue, fishermen and woodcutters are entering the Sundarbans.
According to Forest Department data up to August 18, 38 cases were filed over illegal entry into the Sundarbans and the harvesting of fish and crabs during the ban. Forty-four people were arrested and sent to court, while 38 boats were seized.
In one case involving the smuggling of shells, a pickup truck was seized and around 77 sacks of shells were recovered. In separate operations, 279 kilograms of crabs were also seized and later released.
Erfan Uddin, station officer of the Burigoalini Forest Station, said all forms of resource extraction and ecotourism in the Sundarbans remain suspended in June, July and August.
Regular patrols are being conducted around the clock from different stations and patrol outposts, he said.
But he said it was difficult to monitor all areas at once because of the vast size of the Sundarbans and its numerous canals.
“When patrols are conducted on one side, people enter from another,” he said, adding that the Forest Department faces a manpower shortage. He said an application had been made to higher authorities to increase staffing.
The Forest Department’s statement has raised questions over how effectively the entry points to the Sundarbans are being controlled, even as regular patrols are being conducted to enforce the ban.
The closure of the Sundarbans has also created a livelihood crisis for fishermen across the coastal belt.
Shahidul Islam, a fisherman from Burigoalini in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira district, said some fishermen and woodcutters enter the forest despite the ban because they have no other way to earn a living.
“When families face hardship, it becomes difficult for many people to wait while following these restrictions,” he said. “With no alternative livelihood, many take risks and enter the forest. When they are arrested, they suffer further losses.”
But another fisherman, Arshad Ali, said not all fishermen violate the ban.
He said some unscrupulous fishermen enter the Sundarbans during the closure period in the hope of making higher profits, causing ordinary fishermen and woodcutters to suffer. Such offenders should receive exemplary punishment, he said.
Ariful Hossain, a fisherman from Gabura union, said families were struggling because the Sundarbans remained closed.
“We are unable to run our households properly. We are passing our days in hardship with our children,” he said.
Ataur Rahman Koyal, a fisherman from Munshiganj village, said his family depends on catching fish and crabs in the Sundarbans.
He said they could not enter the forest while it remains closed and would return once the ban ends. But he added that fishermen also face fear of pirates when they go into the forest.
Many fishermen and woodcutters in the coastal region alleged that when access to the Sundarbans is closed, human movement in the forest decreases. They said this creates opportunities for pirates and their associates to enter the forest, catch fish using poison and hunt deer and tigers.
Erfan Uddin said pirates were present in the Sundarbans and law enforcement agencies were working to control them.
He urged fishermen and woodcutters to inform the Forest Department if they had any information. Without information from them, taking action becomes difficult in many cases, he said.
The main aim of the three-month ban is to protect wildlife and biodiversity by halting the extraction of forest resources.
Yet the data showing 38 cases, 44 arrests and 38 seized boats during the restriction period indicates that while enforcement operations are ongoing, human entry into the Sundarbans has not been fully stopped.
The Forest Department says patrols are being carried out day and night. At the same time, officials acknowledge that the vast forest and manpower shortages make it difficult to monitor all areas simultaneously.
Local fishermen have also pointed to livelihood pressures and fear of pirates.
The situation has raised questions over how people are entering the Sundarbans despite the ban. When the Forest Department knows that people enter from one side while patrols are conducted on another, why are more effective measures not being taken to control those entry routes?
It has also raised wider concerns among environmentalists, forest-dependent communities, local non-governmental organisation leaders, researchers, fishermen and woodcutters over whether coordinated steps are being taken to enforce the ban, address the livelihood crisis of fishermen and tackle pirate activity in the Sundarbans.
