Sundarbans not yet collapsing, but is quietly being compromised

M Zakir Hossain Khan, snapped inside the Sundarbans recently by photo journalist A.B.M. Rafiqur Rahmasn. - GreenWatch Dhaka

“Compared to my visit a couple of years ago, the Sundarbans today presents a paradox. On the surface, there are encouraging signs, tiger numbers have increased and conservation enforcement has improved. However, beneath that progress lies deeper ecological stress.

Mangrove health is under pressure from rising salinity due to reduced freshwater flow from upstream, the spread of invasive species, pollution from coal-based power plants, and increasing heat stress. There are also alarming signs of ecosystem degradation, including grabbing fish by poisoning, illegal poaching, and the gradual loss of species. At the same time, local communities, such as fishers and honey collectors, continue to face extortion and growing security risks, including piracy and robbery.

The absence of a comprehensive master plan has led to unregulated tourism. The rapid expansion of so-called eco-hotels near protected areas, lack of limits on daily visitor capacity, excessive noise pollution, and the dumping of waste into water bodies are severely damaging biodiversity and disrupting natural habitats, contrary to the principles of nature justice. I have never seen such a low number of deer or monkeys in Kotka and Kochikhali before.

This is not a simple story of recovery or decline; it is a story of fragile stability. If we mistake short-term gains for long-term resilience, we risk losing the ecological foundation that sustains both biodiversity and millions of livelihoods.

The real question is not whether the Sundarbans is surviving, but whether we are governing it with integrity. A Natural Rights Led Governance approach demands that we restore the ecological rights of the system itself. This means ensuring the unrestricted natural flow of the Ganga–Brahmaputra system, because without freshwater justice, the Sundarbans cannot survive.

It also requires real-time digital monitoring of ecosystems and biodiversity, actively engaging youth as custodians through data, technology, and accountability. It calls for community stewardship models, where local populations are recognized not as threats, but as trustees of nature’s services. Critically, we must introduce scientific zoning of shrimp cultivation and other economic activities to prevent ecological destruction driven by short-term profit.

The Sundarbans is not yet collapsing, but it is quietly being compromised. Without aligning governance with the rights of nature, today’s visible gains may become tomorrow’s irreversible losses.”

- M. Zakir Hossain Khan, Architect and Proponent of Natural Rights Led Governance; Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Change Initiative