The four cyclones that hit the eastern coast of India between 2019-21 – Fani, Amphan, Bulbul and Yaas – point to the increasingly unpredictable weather events in the Sundarbans caused by climate change and sea level rise.

https://science.thewire.in/environment/on-islands-swallowed-by-water-there-is-nowhere-else-to-go/ 

Sundarbans inhabitants have faced climate-induced displacement for decades. Lohachara was one of the first inhabited islands to disappear under the sea in 1996, forcing residents to relocate to neighbouring islands, often without documents or property deeds.

Women-led households in the Sundarbans are more common than in any other area in India because of distress migration.

Increasing salinity is a leading cause of reproductive health problems among rural women in the Sundarbans, including pelvic inflammation and urinary tract infections. The intersection of salinity, women’s health, and its effect on family systems and local economy remains an under-researched area that deserves urgent attention. The pressure on forest resources also amplifies man-animal conflict in the area. The Sundarbans, both in Bangladesh and West Bengal, are home to tiger widows, women whose husbands went into the Sundarbans reserve forest area for fishing or honey collection and were killed by tigers.

Climate disaster not only slows down the scope of recovery but exacerbates pre-existing vulnerabilities along the lines of caste and gender. For example, state relief in the area following climate disaster is often selective and contingent on existing land holdings, as research interviews with women who have witnessed state relief measures after Cyclone Amphan in the Sundarbans suggest.

by PIYA SRINIVASAN

30/01/2024