Tourists in the Sunderbans. A Telegraph picture

If you are booking a package tour to the Sunderbans carrying supplies from the city and with boarding and lodging completely aboard the vessel, you may be taking in your fill of the mysterious mangrove world but you are giving it nothing back in return.

Seventy per cent of the 75,000 tourists who make it to the Sunderbans annually belong to this category, with zero contribution to the lives of local residents or the conservation of the eco-system. This is what a study sponsored by South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics and conducted under the aegis of the Global Change Programme of Jadavpur University (JU) has revealed.

“It is the rest of the tourists who stay in lodges at Pakhiralay, Bali, Dayapur or Sajnekhali and book local boats whose visits benefit the villagers,” says researcher Indrila Guha, who presented the findings at JU on Friday.

The research by Guha and Santadas Ghosh had two aims — valuing the land of the tiger through the eyes of the tourists and gauging the impact of tourism on local livelihood.

The study, carried out on the basis of a survey of visitors over four winter months in 2005-06, indicates that the entry fee to the forests may be increased from the present Rs 15 per head per day. The recommended figure is Rs 154.

While 73 per cent tourists prefer the winter months to visit the Sunderbans, barely five per cent make the spot a part of multi-point travel plans. Therefore, among the 95 per cent visiting the area as a single-point destination, visitors from Calcutta (34 per cent) and North 24-Parganas (28 per cent) rule. “We have not been successful in making the Sunderbans attractive to visitors from afar due to many reasons including lack of infrastructure,” Guha said.

For the second part, surveys were carried out in two villages — Pakhiralay, participating in, and Dulki, unaffected by tourism.

“Households participating in tourism have a higher standard of living. They spend 19 per cent more on food and 38 per cent more on non-food items including education of children. They are also 25 per cent less dependent on the forest for their livelihood,” Guha points out.

“Local residents take part in activities like serving in the lodges, sailing the boats, manning shops or telephone booths that operate in peak tourist season,” says field investigator Biswajit Dasgupta.

The study makes various prescriptions to the planners to increase the volume of tourists.

“Policy decisions should be backed by adequate research. This is a good beginning,” said state pollution control board chairman A.N. Basu. Others in the audience like the secretary of the Sunderban affairs department, Arun Bal, urged for extreme caution while drawing a greater number of tourists to the fragile eco-system.