Zoological Survey of India to study faunal diversity of Sagar Islands

Kolkata: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has taken up the study of fauna on Sagar Islands in the Kakdwip subdivision of South 24 Parganas district.

"We want to have time scale data of the faunal diversity on Sagar Islands. We hope to complete the study in two years' time and we will be releasing a publication based on our findings," said Kailash Chandra, director of ZSI, Kolkata.

The ZSI has decided to conduct study exclusively for the islands as they feel that the impact of climate change and anthropology will have a reasonable influence on the faunal diversity on the islands. It is perhaps for the first time that any organisation in government or private level has taken up the task of studying the fauna on Sagar Islands.

Sagar Islands is a part of the Sunderbans administration, however, it does not have any tiger habitation or mangrove forests or small river tributaries, which is a characteristic of the overall Sunderbans delta. It has already made it to the tourist map of the state and is a prime place of Hindu pilgrimage.

Every year on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, thousands of pilgrims flock to the place for taking a holy dip at the confluence of river Ganga and Bay of Bengal and offer prayers in the Kapil Muni Temple.

"Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is a protected area but Sagar has a reasonable habitation. Hence, the human impact on Sagar will be much higher. There have been a lot of studies on the faunal diversity of Sunderbans. We feel that this study will be very interesting, particularly when it can be compared to that of Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve," Chandra added.

The study will involve pollinators, amphibians, reptiles, mammals etc. "A feature of the study will be an assessment of the human impact on the fauna so that management and conservation can be taken up to maintain the ecological balance of the place," a senior ZSI official said. It may be mentioned that The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is planning to promote spiritual tourism on Sagar Islands and would take up several projects in the area for which the state government has promised help.