-Down to Earth Cyclones in India, particularly in the Sundarbans, made locals vulnerable to traffickers and drove them into forced labour, the report flagged  Climate change-induced extreme weather events put women, children and minorities at risk of modern slavery and human trafficking. The phenomenon is on the rise in India, among other countries, warned the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Anti-Slavery International in a recent report.  Modern slavery — including...

-Down to Earth We must get out of ‘beyond disaster response’ mode in the Sundarbans and take urgent action to save it The world seems to pay attention to the Sundarbans only when catastrophe hits. In the aftermath of both supercyclones Amphan and Yaas that ravaged the Sundarbans, non-profits, celebrities, clubs and citizens had organised several crowd funding initiatives to get the financial support to distribute relief materials to the cyclone victims. It...

-TheWire.in The increasing frequency of cyclones means growing high-yielding varieties – which do not grow well on saline soil – is no longer an option. Kolkata: Cyclone Aila of 2009 had triggered a wave of migration from the Sundarbans region, after the storm surges associated with the cyclone inundated thousands of acres of land with saline water from the rivers and the seas and left them uncultivable for years to come. It...

-TheWire.in While hundreds of houses are still under water, the storms triggered by the cyclone have inundated ponds and farmlands with saline water, possibly making the land uncultivable for years. Sunderbans: Cyclones are now routine in the Sunderbans. After Amphan caused widespread damage last year, Yaas has led to more damage. “People didn’t die this time in the cyclone, but they might die of poverty. We lost all our means of livelihood. How...

-The Indian Express The Indian Express looks at how a centuries-old folk theatre form and the worship of a forest goddess has helped the islanders understand the power of nature and the limits to human need in this precarious tide country The Sundarbans is one of the most ecologically vulnerable terrains in the world. Spread between India and Bangladesh, the cluster of islands is picking up the pieces after Amphan, the worst...