Estuarine mangrove forests are a priceless environmental, cultural and aesthetic legacy. And ours have begun to drown

A tigress that strayed into Deulbari village of West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on the outskirts of the Sunderban Tiger Reserve (STR), was pelted with stones and beaten by local residents as it lay in a sedated state in a pond after being darted by forest personnel with tranquillisers and forced down a palm tree atop which it had taken shelter on Monday morning. The frightened animal was rescued from the pond and taken by forest staff for examination by veterinarians. It was to be released into the forests, N. Singhal, Field Director, STR, said.

Bali Island, Feb. 11: British high commissioner Richard Stagg yesterday inaugurated a mangrove project in the Sunderbans to combat global warming in the tiger reserve. The British deputy high commission in Calcutta, in collaboration with an NGO, will develop the mangrove forest along half a square kilometre of the riverbank in Bali Island, 200km from Calcutta. The deputy high commission is funding the project, estimated to cost around

The Hungry Tide

THE ecosystem of the world's largest mangrove, the Sundarbans in West Bengal, was falling apart until local forest authorities took up conservation projects to educate the locals and wean them away