The dense forests, the meandering brooks, the gushing river waters and the rich wildlife -- all add to the unparalleled charm of the Sunderbans. Yes, the mangrove deltaic forest has finally got its serenity back, thanks to the ongoing three-month ban on tourism and fishing that aims at ending human squatting on nature. The forest department's ban on tourism and fishing in the Sundarbans, effective June 1, ends on August 31. These months are the breeding season for most of the species of fish and hence the imposition of the ban is in accordance with the Integrated Resources Management Plan (IRMP), according to officials and experts. Read: Govt focuses on food security in new action plan amid global crisis Hawladar Azad Kabir, officer-in-charge of the East Sundarbans Karamjal Wildlife and Breeding Centre, says that throughout the year people from Bangladesh and abroad throng the Sundarbans to enjoy its beauty. "Now, there are no sounds of footsteps of people and engine-run boats," he says. "Nature has got a chance to reshape its beauty in its own way. One can clearly hear the cacophony of birds and see wild animals roaming around without any fear." According to Md Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (east) of the Sundarbans, rare wild animals can now be spotted easily in the forest. Every year, an estimated five lakh people visit the Sundarbans and 25,000 water crisscross the canals of the mangrove delta.

This month only, the much-awaited tiger census will begin in the Sunderbans -- the world’s largest and only mangrove delta inhabited by the big cats. Along with tigers, the government will also enumerate deer and pigs in the delta under the 'Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project’ estimated to cost the state exchequer a whopping Tk 35.93 crore. On March 23, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change gave its nod to the project with a three-year timeline. “The census will be conducted inside the tiger sanctuary in the Sunderbans as well as its periphery,” Abu Naser Mohsin, divisional forest area officer, told UNB. Also read: Tiger recovered from Sundarbans canal most likely died of natural causes

Environmental experts have stressed the need for a wildlife census to enumerate the wild animals in the Sundarbans that are threatened by climate change, poaching and habitat loss. There has long been no count of wild animals in the world's largest mangrove forest, which is spread across an area of 6,017 sq km of which 4,832 sq km is forested and the remaining marshy tracts. The 2015 tiger census recorded a Royal Bengal tiger population of just 106 in the Bangladeshi Sundarbans, which rose to 114 in 2018. Similarly, a survey in 2017 put the number of crocodiles in the Sunderbans between 150 and 205. READ: Sundarbans tourism: Now focus on automation to improve services However, the census also pointed out that the crocodiles are at the risk of extinction due to seven reasons, including deaths of baby crocodiles in fishing nets, movement of water vessels in the Pashur river, and dumping of industrial waste in the river. Prof Abdullah Harun Chowdhury of the environmental science department at Khulna University, said, “The forest department should conduct a wildlife census periodically to enumerate wild animals like wild buffaloes, crocodiles, tigers and leopards in the Sunderbans." The census can also help the Bangladesh government in adopting a proper wildlife management system in the Sundarbans, he said. Hawladar Azad, officer-in-charge of Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre in East Sundarbans, said the authorities conducted a wildlife census of deer, monkeys, otters and bhodors in 1997. According to the 1997 census, there were one to 1.5 lakh deer, 40-50 thousand monkeys, 20-25 thousand pigs and 20-25 thousand otters. However, there has been no census of water monitors, pythons, turtle, birds and other animals to date. Dr Sheikh Faridul Islam, chairman of Save the Sundarbans Foundation, said, “We must find out the actual number of wildlife animals inhabiting the Sunderbans. The forest department should take necessary steps in this regard." The number of wildlife animals could also fall due to the movement of tourists and vessels in rivers inside the Sundarbans, he said. READ: 44 held for illegal fishing in Sundarbans Mihir Kumar Do, Forest Conservator (Khulna circle), said that they do carry out "smart patrolling" using GPS for protecting the wildlife in the Sunderbans.

The Bangladesh government has cancelled leaves of all forest personnel posted in the Sundarbans and asked them to intensify patrolling in the mangrove forest during the Eid holidays. Stricter patrolling, officials said, would help keep at bay smugglers who could take advantage of the Eid holidays to cut trees or hunt deer in the Sunderbans. Khulna Circle Forest Conservator Moinuddin Khan said, "The usual norm is to allow some forest personnel to take leave of absence during the Eid holidays, but this year everyone has been asked to stay on." Also read: Tourism suspended in Sundarbans till Apr 15 According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, officials of all government, semi-government, autonomous and private organisations, and banks and financial institutions have also been asked to remain at their respective workstations during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

For a country which happens to one of the world's most important inland fishing nations, fishermen and fisheries get little to no attention from the government authorities.