Life in the Sundarbans, on the front line of climate change
Over 300 species of fish have been recorded in the mangroves. The small-scale fishers and fish farmers are natural custodians of these water bodies. One farmer said: “We don’t catch small fishes, we know where the breeding grounds are, we place our catch far away from there.”
Women fish workers who I had the chance to meet shared a slightly different experience. They told me they make up half of the workforce, if not more, but remain under-represented in labour discussions, collective bargaining efforts or are represented tokenistically for political gains.
Then there is the annual fishing ban. In India, the government bans fishing for two months each year to help stocks regenerate. During this period, local and state governments provide welfare to affected fishers. But in West Bengal, where fishing is restricted from mid-April to mid-June, this does not happen. After protests, the local government announced it had introduced its own scheme in 2019. But locals told me they have not received any support funds since the announcement.
In the wake of recent climate disasters like Cyclone Amphan, however, grassroots organising has emerged, with local groups asserting their rights to land, livelihood and dignity.
During my visit I was told that across West Bengal, 8,000 small-scale fishworkers organised a protest against repressions by local governance bodies. The group held a press conference demanding recognition of small-scale fish workers and for smooth processing of licence applications. They say the process is currently riddled with corruption and delays.
Building climate resilience through collective action
One local leader, who is part of a small-scale fish worker union, told me: “The future of the Sundarbans and its inhabitants cannot be fulfilled by tokenistic approaches to conservation or short-term climate projects.”
Another union leader, who has been organising inland and oceanic fishworkers across West Bengal, added: “The need of the hour is to support grassroots movements and collectives who are forging new paths for themselves to advocate for and amplify their demands for economic alternatives, sustainable management of resources, and decolonising authoritarian structures.”
When asked about sustaining life and livelihoods in Sundarbans, many members of the local Dalit and Adivasi communities have a constant fear of displacement. A “managed retreat” of the population has been floated for over a decade, but locals I spoke to were strongly against the idea.
One of the locals said: “We have been witnessing hardships since we were young, now our children are growing up. We still face the same fears, all the restrictions are for us, but the tourist departments, forest departments have to follow no rules.”
While discussing how to adapt to these changes, many locals echoed that fisherfolk and farmers should be involved in restorative actions planned for the region. They believe that until Indigenous and local knowledge of the region is taken into account, the efforts will fail.
This article was originally published on Dialogue Earth under a Creative Commons licence.