The sea level has risen by an average of 3 centimeters a year over the past two decades in the Sundarbans, the vast mangrove delta at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal, leading to one of the fastest rates of coastal erosion in the world.Residents of the dozens of islands in the Indian part of the Sundarbans have seen their homes swallowed up by the sea and their farmland poisoned by saltwater, forcing many to relocate.The fast-encroaching sea, driven by climate change, has also eaten away at the hunting grounds of the Sundarbans’ famous Bengal tigers, pushing them to target the villagers’ livestock — and, increasingly, the villagers themselves.At the same time, villagers unable to farm and experiencing dwindling fish catches are venturing deeper into tiger territory to look for crabs and collect honey, putting them at even greater risk of being attacked by the big cats. SAGAR ISLAND, India — Saktipada Bhuinya looks out over the ocean that surrounds Sagar Island. The Indian part of the Sundarbans, the vast mangrove forest in the Bay of Bengal, consists of 102 islands, about half of them inhabited. That may not be the case for much longer. The villagers have raised a tall barrier of mud and rocks, and farther out to sea the West Bengal state government has erected a white concrete structure to prevent the vigorous erosion. But these measures haven’t stopped the approaching water from carving away large chunks of land, year after year. Saktipada tells Mongabay that the sea level often rises above the barrier at high tide, the water rushing over his floors. “I’ll give the house another year,” he says. After that, Saktipada and his family of six will have to move to a higher part of this mostly flat island, where they’ll stay under tarpaulin tents with other climate refugees. “We have no money to buy new land. We’re poor people,” Saktipada says. Saktipada Bhuinya says the sea level often rises above the barrier at high tide, and water comes rushing over his floor in the Indian Sundarbans. Image by Jonas Gratzer for Mongabay. He’s not alone. Tens of thousands have already lost their homes in the Sundarbans. Each year it becomes harder for the 160,000 people living in Sagar Island’s 43 villages to resist the rising water. Cyclones and storms, which regularly pass through the Bay of Bengal, have become more frequent. Five years ago, the high tide broke through all the barriers on the island’s eastern side, ruining thousands of houses and rendering farmland unusable through high salinity. Through centuries the tides have formed the Sundarbans; the islands vanish and reappear, in a natural rhythm. But over the last couple of decades the variations have become more extreme, and the pace of erosion here is considered to be the world’s highest. The locals have tried to adapt. Those who farm have begun cultivating salt-resistant strains of rice. For others, overfishing has made for leaner catches, and the shrinking coastline threatens the tradition of sun-drying fish on the beaches. Amina Bibi Gita fishes in the paddy fields on Dayapur Island in the Indian Sundarbans. Her work leaves her vulnerable to a tiger attack. Image by Jonas Gratzer for Mongabay. Saktipada has fished all his life, but his son won’t carry on the tradition; like many young people from the Sundarbans, he’s moved to Kolkata for work. “They don’t want to stay here. There is no future in Sundarbans,” Saktipada says. The situation on nearby Ghoramara Island is worse. The island had one of the first settlements in the delta, but thousands have been forced to move since more than half of the land area was lost. At a glance, Ghoramara appears to be a pristine paradise: no traffic congestion, as locals ride bicycles on winding paths next to ponds with diving ducks; lush forest all around; and goats and cows grazing. Yet all of this is at risk of disappearing due to climate change. “The aggressive cyclones have an impact on the rice yield, and the salinity has increased by 50 percent on our fields,” says Shankar Kayal, one of the fewer than 5,000 residents still remaining. “I have enough land to support my family. But what happens when the sea rises further?” He adds that government assistance for relocation to other islands reaches few residents. “There are just too many villagers in need of financial support.”
