Is There a Tomorrow?: The Story of Survival of Sunderbans Against Climate Change

Abstract

Occurrences of earthquakes, floods, unseasonal rainfall, heat flashes, and ravaging forest fires are increasing in different parts of the world. The climate is changing, sea levels are rising all around the world; thus endangering the coastal communities. Their lives are increasingly becoming unsustainable. Are these phenomenons naturally occurring or Anthropogenic? These are some of the questions which scientists globally are looking answers for. New researches show that the global temperature will rise by 4 °C by the end of this century. The consequences for such an occurrence would be huge in the lives of all the inhabitants of this planet. Our lives might change forever. Scientists and scholars are trying to come up with solutions to deal with the incoming crisis, but unfortunately for the coastal communities life has already started changing. They are already feeling the wrath of climate change. In this paper, I am going to discuss the present socio-economic conditions of the island dwellers of Sunderbans. Sunderbans are a cluster of mangrove forested islands in the mouth of the Ganga Brahmaputra delta. The fragile ecosystem and the endangered animals of this region have received substantial academic attention but my paper talks about the daily struggle of the million plus poverty-stricken people who live on these islands. The threats of climate change like the rising sea level, extreme weather events like hurricanes, cyclones and floods, loss of livelihoods and finally people being forced to leave their coastal homelands for higher and greener pastures is already happening in these islands for quite some years now. This paper discusses about the problems faced by the people of Sunderbans engaged in farming and fishing. The embankment protecting their land is poorly maintained and gets damaged during the frequent storms and high tides, which eats up their land on a regular basis. Already a few of the islands have disappeared altogether. Mangroves are the only natural protection these islands have; thus afforestation measures are required on a large scale. Out of desperation, these people enter the reserved forest area kept for tigers and other animals and get eaten away. Is this a way to live? Is there a way forward for these island dwellers other than leaving the only homes they have known and join the fast growing community of climate migrants?