The Sundarbans has come under digital monitoring, and smart patrolling has commenced to identify and arrest criminals.
Currently, monitoring activities use drones to combat the use of poison in fishing in the canals and rivers around the Sundarbans.
Over the past six years, from 2018-2023, smart patrolling has led to the arrest of 2,819 individuals in the Sundarbans, along with the recovery of numerous boats and equipment.
In a bid to enhance public engagement in these initiatives, rewards have been given to the locals who help identify the culprits. So far, in 28 instances, a reward totaling Tk1,96,000 was granted.
Meanwhile, digital systems, such as camera trapping, are also being utilized to track the tiger census.
Nirmal Kumar Pal, divisional forest officer of the Department of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, said the introduction of digital systems in wildlife conservation and monitoring is now increasing.
What is smart patrolling?
Forest Department officials said that a few years ago, forest guards and boatmen used to navigate the Sundarbans solely by boat.
Back then, their patrols faced challenges due to limitations in measurement methods, data storage, law enforcement skills, and technical expertise.
But now, with smart patrols in place, a team of approximately 10 people equipped with binoculars, Go-Pro cameras, and bulletproof jackets traverse the waters.
They are also equipped with computers, internet access, generators, as well as food and medicines to sustain them for 12-14 days.
These teams identify wildlife, threats, and criminals. Additionally, they plan the next day's patrol activities and compile reports at the end of each patrol.
They are also actively involved in creating a comprehensive database concerning wildlife and their habitats, documenting instances of crime and identifying perpetrators such as wildlife poachers.
Smart patrol methods
Two regular teams per range patrol alternately twice a month. Each team patrols for 12-14 days and seven to eight hours a day.
Activities are carried out by vessels and on foot at all places accessible to the reserve.
The area of crime is regularly monitored.
Fishing with poison decreased
Mofizur Rahman, an expert at the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Khulna, said the incidence of fishing with poison in the Sundarbans is no longer happening.
"The theme of this year's World Wildlife Day is 'Connecting People and Earth: Digital Innovation for Wildlife Conservation'. This theme has been implemented in the Sundarbans area for a long time.”
Meanwhile, on the occasion of World Wildlife Day on Sunday, a rally was organized byDhoritri Rokkhay Amra (Dhora) and Waterkeepers Bangladesh in Mongla.
Speakers at the rally said that the main challenge in curbing the illegal wildlife trade in Bangladesh is the complexity of arresting criminals and filing cases against them.
A study by the Wildlife Conservation Society found approximately 30% of cases involving illegal wildlife trade resulted in arrests. However, only 20% or even fewer cases were filed.
