Sea rise, salinity force Sunderbans inhabitants to migrate

A rapid rise in the sea level, salinity and overall climate change in the Sunderbans has triggered migration of inhabitants from several blocks in the forest to other parts of the country.
"The human habitation in several blocks of the Sunderbans has witnessed migration in the last few years to other parts of the country on account of the rise in sea level and salinity in water," a senior consultant with the World Bank, Sanjay Gupta, told PTI.
The migration of the inhabitants of Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, has in turn brought about a change in the socio-economic condition of the area.

According to a research report prepared by the World Bank, two kinds of migration are taking place - seasonal and permanent.
"It is true migration is taking place in several parts of the Sunderbans and if this is not checked by using the resources for capacity building of the inhabitants, it could lead to massive migration in the coming years," WWF consultant on Sunderbans Ratul Saha told PTI.
According to the world bank report, the findings of the Non Lending Technical Assistance (NLTA) stated that nearly 30 per cent of the households have a family member who migrates in search of work.

According to Saha, the rising sea level and increasing salinity have deprived the people living in core Sunderbans areas of their main sources of livelihood - agriculture and fishing.

"Due to rise in the sea level, large parcels of agricultural land have gone under water and the rising level of salinity has brought down the quantity of fishes ," Saha said.
Saha, while citing a WWF report said that more than 7,000 people have already been displaced in the last 30 years due to climate change and 70,000 more people are at a high risk of displacement.
In the aftermath of the Cyclone Aila in 2009, Sonargoan village, which was the worst hit, has faced severe migration with most of the families having migrated to Kolkata.

"After Aila, we are yet to get back to the mainstream, Our fields are not yet fit for cultivation. The yield of fish has come down too. So in order to survive, most of the male members have either migrated alone to other parts of the country or with his entire family," said Satinath, a 50 year old resident of Sonargaon.