Sundarbans to come under 'Smart patrolling'

“Smart (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) patrolling” will begin in the Sundarbans from September to ensure overall security of the world's largest mangrove forest, and to reduce criminal activities as well as wildlife and forest-related crimes.

According to the forest department sources, smart patrolling system was introduced earlier in the Sundarbans under the auspices of various private organisations which noticeably helped reduce forest crimes.

Following that, the forest department sent a proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in April to continue the patrolling on a regular basis and it later received the approval to start the process from September, said Amir Hossain Chowdhury, forest conservator of Khulna.

Each patrolling group will have eight members. Among the eight, four will carry firearms. They will patrol the area on three water vessels -- one mother vessel, one speed boat and a fibre boat.

Moreover, each group will conduct the drive in the forest for 12 to 14 days. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Cyber Tracker will record their activities. During the drive, the team can even take help from different law enforcement agencies, said the sources.

Now, the entire mangrove forest is not under telephone and internet network coverage. If it comes under internet service, it will be possible to monitor the activities of smart patrolling team directly.

Meanwhile, sources at the forest department said the patrolling activities are being hampered due to an insufficient budget.

They cited that Tk 10 lakh has been allocated for this sector in the current fiscal year. On the other hand, it costs about Tk 1.5 lakh for each drive, which means the total budget covers only seven days' costs.

However, the sources expected that additional allocation will be granted for the project.

Earlier in 2016, a smart patrolling project began in four ranges of the Sundarbans with patrolling group formed under the World Bank-funded “Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Wildlife Protection” project.

The project used to check wildlife in more than 140 geographical sites in 31 countries. It is also a familiar system in the forests of neighbouring countries -- India, Nepal and Thailand.