Conservation And Conflicts In The Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, India

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Geography

Publication Date

9-4-2015

Abstract

The Sundarban Biosphere Reserve in West Bengal, India, is part of the largest mangrove forest ecosystem in the world. The reserve is a world heritage site and the last refuge for the endangered Bengal tiger at a crucial time when global climate change threatens their existence. The mangrove ecosystem and wildlife conservation have become the priority for the state government of West Bengal. However, in becoming so, the state government imposes restrictions on catching fish in the core and buffer areas of the biosphere reserve, which intensify fishermen's everyday resource‐access struggles in the mangrove forest. This paper examines the conflict between local fishermen and conservation needs, broadening the understanding of human‐environment relationships in the Sundarbans region of India.

Comments

This article was originally published in Geographical Review. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Due to copyright restrictions, this article is not available for free download from ScholarWorks @ CWU.

Journal

Geographical Review

Rights

Copyright © 2015 by the American Geographical Society of New York

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