Key Facts

The West Bengal Forest Directorate and the Sundarban Tiger Reserve (STR) management launched Phase II of the integrated Sunderbans Tiger Conservation Project, deploying advanced camera-trapping arrays, drone patrols, and acoustic sensors across vulnerable tidal mangrove creeks. The initiative aims to enhance anti-poaching security, mitigate recurring human-tiger conflict in bordering villages, and track prey base dynamics across the saline tidal wetlands. Forest officials also expanded community joint forest management (JFM) committees, distributing tiger-proof crab collecting nets and nylon fencing along forest fringes to prevent big cats from straying into human habitations.

GK Context

The Sunderbans, spanning the delta of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers across India and Bangladesh, is the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest and the only mangrove habitat globally populated by the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2019, the Sunderbans is home to diverse species, including the estuarine crocodile, olive ridley turtle, and Gangetic dolphin. The Indian Sunderbans hosts over 100 tigers according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Status of Tigers in India report, which relies on the M-STrIPES monitoring application.