Grand development and islanders’ worries

In 1996, the Directorate of Forests of the Government of West Bengal organized in Kolkata a seminar in memory of William Roxburgh who was not only the father of modern botany in India but also the first botanist to have made plant collections from the Sundarbans. In 1999, the proceedings of the seminar were published in the form of a volume called Sundarbans Mangal. Kiranmoy Nanda, the Minister-in-charge of Fisheries, Government of West Bengal, spelt out the purpose of this specialists’ meeting in the following manner:

The seminar provided an opportunity for botanists, zoologists, geologists and ecologists to update their knowledge. The issues debated ranged from ecological balance to sustainable mushroom spawn cultivation. Specialists even dwelt at length on the technicalities of embankment construction and its protection against the tidal waves. This was clearly an attempt by the specialists to make the Sundarbans part of the global discourses of conservation and sustainable development. In 2001, the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve became part of UNESCO's world network of biosphere reserves and as a result, the state forest department now expects an initial grant of 3 million dollars from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for the protection of the Sundarbans (The Statesman 2002). Today, the World Heritage Site also attracts funding of Rs. 3 crores from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to conduct research on the development of infrastructure, soil conservation and a livelihood programme for the people in the area. The Sundarban Affairs Department (SAD) will collaborate with the ADB on this. Thus, deals are struck and development agendas are prepared in the government departments.