Natural Resource Evaluation and Climate Change: Analysis of Indian Sundarbans

Abstract

UNESCO heritage Sundarbans is perhaps the largest island where people are solely dependent upon natural resources. Indian part of Sundarban covers around 4,263 sq. km. area and mostly situated in the district of South 24 Parganas of West Bengal. Here, people are mainly dependent on agriculture and fishing activities. Since forestry is reserved and people are allowed to collect the non-timber forest products only, the burden of livelihood earning comes on both fisheries and agricultural activities. The mechanization of agriculture and fishery, both of which are costly, have kept on swinging accordingly. People’s perception for the sustainable use cum development of these two resources, thus, becomes immensely crucial. Here, we have applied contingent valuation method to know about the people’s perception or willingness for saving these resources. The study is based on primary field survey conducted in late 2023 in two different parts of Sundarbans – both of which are dependent on both the resources. We find that people are more willing towards protection of fishery than the agricultural, probably because of its high market value and business opportunities than agricultural products. Again, climate change and frequent storms are more devastating on agricultural products than fishery. Such an analysis, in the era of climate change, is not only significant but also unique.

Citation

Chatterjee, N. and Chatterjee, T. (2024), "Natural Resource Evaluation and Climate Change: Analysis of Indian Sundarbans", Das, R.C. (Ed.) Sustainable Agricultural Practices: Economic and Environmental Implications, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 27-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83608-336-820241003