Background
The Sundarbans—the world’s largest mangrove forest—is a lifeline for millions of people living in southwest Bangladesh. This vast green ecosystem acts as a natural shield against cyclones, tidal surges, and coastal erosion, while also sustaining livelihoods through fishing, honey collection, agriculture, and forest-based resources.
Life in the Sundarbans landscape, however, is increasingly precarious. Frequent storms, rising salinity, and shrinking agricultural land force many men to migrate in search of work, leaving women—particularly tiger widows, indigenous Munda communities, and women-headed households—to bear disproportionate social and economic burdens. Heavy dependence on forest resources, combined with climate stress and limited livelihood alternatives, places both people and biodiversity at constant risk.
The Sundarbans serves as a protective wall against oceanic disasters and a critical source of livelihoods for coastal communities. Ensuring its long-term sustainability requires inclusive forest governance, effective co-management, and viable alternative livelihoods. While the Forest Department remains the primary authority responsible for conservation, existing management practices face significant challenges. Co-management approaches involving forest-dependent communities have been introduced, but these systems themselves require strengthening, coordination, and inclusive participation to become truly effective. In response to these challenges, LEDARS is implementing the Resilient Ecosystems & Sustainable Communities to Uphold the Sundarbans Environment (RESCUE) Program, with support from GIZ, Germany, to strengthen community-led conservation while securing sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable populations.
Goal of the Project
Objectives
- Improved and Sustainable Livelihoods: Communities in the Sundarbans landscape achieve higher and more sustainable incomes through enhanced skills, value addition, and improved access to markets.
- Inclusive and Equitable Resource Governance: Women and marginalized groups gain greater influence in local planning and resource management, with their priorities increasingly reflected in decision-making processes.
- Gender-Responsive Biodiversity Conservation: Local communities implement effective, gender-responsive initiatives that protect biodiversity and promote sustainable natural resource management.
Major Interventions
1. Scoping Study on Alternative Livelihoods
The project begins with a comprehensive scoping study to assess the realities, needs, and opportunities of Sundarbans-dependent communities. This includes identifying viable alternative livelihoods, mapping market linkages, and exploring engagement with financial institutions. Findings are validated through a multi-stakeholder workshop involving community representatives, government departments, financial institutions, and SMEs. The study provides evidence-based guidance for identifying conservation-friendly livelihoods, service providers, and sustainable income opportunities.
2. Community Mobilization & Institutional Capacity Development
The project aims to foster a supportive conservation ecosystem across the Sundarbans and its impact zone. It will establish 10 Resource User Groups and 10 Women’s Groups, engaging highly vulnerable households—including tiger widows, Munda communities, and forest-dependent women-headed families—in conservation initiatives. Existing people’s institutions such as Co-management Committees, Village Conservation Forums (VCFs), and Community Patrolling Groups will be strengthened through leadership and conservation-focused training. The project will also revitalize 10 VCFs and facilitate bi-monthly People’s Forum meetings to ensure inclusive participation, stronger local governance, and community-led biodiversity conservation.
3. Creating Sustainable Livelihood Opportunities
To reduce pressure on forest resources, the project will provide capacity-building training for vulnerable households engaged in forest-dependent activities. Selected women and Sundarbans-dependent families will receive technical and financial support to initiate and scale income-generating enterprises. In total, 200 women, including tiger widows and indigenous households, will be trained in improved livelihood options and linked with market opportunities.
4. Leadership Development for Effective Forest Management
The project will strengthen leadership within people’s organizations to enhance their bargaining power and collaboration with the Forest Department, Union Parishads, NGOs, and other service providers. Training will cover climate change and resilience, gender-responsive development, community project planning, implementation and monitoring, and advocacy. These efforts will reinforce participatory forest governance and strengthen the overall management structure for Sundarbans conservation.
5. Strengthening Community-Led Climate Resilience
RESCUE will support climate-resilient agriculture, community-level rainwater management, climate-smart off-farm activities, and conservation initiatives. Three community rainwater harvesting systems will improve access to safe water, while at least 10 community-led initiatives—including mangrove afforestation, seed banks, eco-tourism development, and campaigns against single-use plastics—will enhance ecosystem resilience and biodiversity protection.
6. Community Outreach and Awareness
The project will conduct extensive awareness activities targeting forest-dependent communities, particularly Munda households, tiger widows, and other high-risk groups. Topics include sustainable forest management, environmental conservation, gender-responsive development, Locally Led Adaptation (LLA), and Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Support will be provided to local cultural groups to deliver impactful performances. Community meetings, youth-led campaigns, cultural events, people’s assemblies, and advocacy dialogues will further strengthen public engagement and collective action.