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The Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal has become India's second-largest tiger reserve after the National Board for Wildlife approved an expansion of 1,044.68 sq km.
This move elevates the reserve from the seventh to the second largest in India, enhancing tiger management and potentially increasing funding and tourism opportunities.
West Bengal’s iconic mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, became India’s second-biggest tiger reserve on August 19, 2025, after the standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) approved the West Bengal government’s proposal to increase its area.
The NBWL panel, led by Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change minister Bhupender Yadav, cleared the West Bengal government’s proposal of adding 1,044.68 square kilometres (sq km) area to the existing reserve. It now is spread across an area of 3,629.57 square kilometres (sq km).
Three tiger-inhabited ranges in the South 24 Parganas district — Matla, Raidighi and Ramganga — have been added to the existing expanse of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (STR).
This expansion now places STR just behind Andhra Pradesh’s Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (3,727.82 sq km) in size and elevates it from the seventh to the second-largest tiger reserve within India’s 58 tiger reserves.
The state proposal, “re-organisation of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve for inclusion of tiger bearing areas of adjacent 24-Parganas (South) Division … for better management Beat with total area of 1044.68 square km … (to be) brought under Sundarban Tiger Reserve”, has been cleared by the minister-led committee.
Down to Earth had reported on International Tiger Day (July 29), that the expansion of STR would soon be cleared by the NBWL.
“…The total area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve will be 3,629.57 sq km which will be one of the biggest tiger reserves in the country … This consolidation will bring all tiger-bearing mangrove forests under unified command of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve … in turn, will speed up implementation of NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) guidelines and bring uniformity in management,” reads the state proposal, a copy of which has been accessed by this correspondent.
“The state proposal was earlier cleared by the NTCA and today’s NBWL meeting has accepted it. Once the minutes are released, there will be formal communication,” confirmed a senior official from the Union environment, forest and climate change ministry to this correspondent.
Bengal’s forest minister Birbaha Hansda also confirmed the status to this correspondent on August 21 evening. “Our chief wildlife warden was in the meeting and he informed me about the development immediately after the meeting was over on August 19 afternoon. I informed Madam Chief Minister yesterday and she is happy with the development. We will notify after receiving the formal communication from the Union government,” shared Hansda.
“We took the decision after prolonged deliberations,” pointed out the minister, expressing hope that the development will benefit the Sundarbans and its people in the long run.
The idea of including parts of the South 24-Parganas forest division within STR was mooted nearly two decades back. “We had approached the Centre in 2005-06 to integrate the adjoining forest areas with STR, as it would help manage tigers more efficiently under a unified structure. But it got stalled,” said Pradip Vyas, a retired forester who spent years working in the region.
The idea was back in contention in 2022-23, when a committee led by the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve’s director Nilanjan Mullick recommended the amalgamation. “We believed that inclusion of the buffer zones of South 24-Parganas in STR would be ecologically and administratively sound,” said Mullick.
The current proposal was formalised in 2024 after the state board of wildlife cleared it in September 2023 and the NTCA gave it the go-ahead. The final proposal was sent to NBWL about a month ago, after several back and forth.
Conservationists have welcomed the move. The expansion will enhance tiger management in the Sundarbans and attract increased central funding for the mangrove forest, according to them.
Soumitra Dasgupta, retired head of the forest force in West Bengal, called it long overdue. “I’ve been advocating for this for over a decade and am very happy that it has finally become a reality,” said the official to this correspondent.
The development may lead to several advantages for the Sundarbans forest area, said Dasgupta. “The development is expected to bring more revenue in the area through government and private funding as well as tourism. Moreover, the capacity of the staff will improve, as will infrastructure and there may be better management.”
Other forest officials are not that hopeful. “Let us see how the situation pans out once the Union government sends the formal communication and the state government issues a notification. The current tiger reserve is bedeviled with several problems, mainly the lack of manpower and finance. We hardly have 40 per cent of approved manpower in STR,” pointed out the official.
According to the latest tiger census, the Sundarbans has an estimated 101 tigers — 80 inside the current STR and 21 in the adjoining South 24 Parganas forests.
“The tiger population is expected to rise further with improved management,” said Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, a tiger expert and also member of the West Bengal Wildlife Board.
“We should take advantage of the latest decision at the earliest as being offered under the tiger protection protocol,” observed Joydeep Kundu, also a member of the West Bengal Wildlife Board.
Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum (DMF), a platform for small fishermen, opposed the move. Milan Das, a senior member, claimed there was no discussion with the community before taking such a step that directly affects their livelihoods. “Already, the fishermen in the present STR face a lot of problems. Once the three South 24 Parganas ranges are added to STR, the livelihood of thousands of additional fishermen is expected to be impacted,” claimed Das.
A senior forest official pointed out that fishermen would not face any problem and be able to carry out their livelihood like earlier as the added area is part of the buffer area. “We will definitely have their interest in mind,” assured minister Hansda.
