A bold truth: when people lose their loved ones to dangerous wildlife, recovery isn’t just about survival—it can spark a bold new purpose. Here’s how that possibility is playing out in the Sundarbans.
Eight photographs tell a story of courage and renewal: tiger widows who are rallying to restore the world’s largest mangrove forest. This CNN editorial piece, part of Call to Earth, highlights a collaboration with Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative to raise awareness and drive practical action on sustainability challenges.
Malati Mondal’s husband was killed about ten years ago while he was fishing from a small raft among the mangroves. She lives in the Sundarbans, the vast mangrove landscape that spans parts of West Bengal, India, and southern Bangladesh. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a maze of tidal waterways, mudflats, and islands that shelters an extraordinary array of endangered species—from river dolphins and the Indian python to Bengal tigers. Unlike many big cats, Sundarbans tigers often swim and hunt along the waterways, traversing long distances in search of fish and crabs. Estimates place tiger populations at roughly 125 in Bangladesh and about 88 on the Indian side, but habitat loss and growing human populations are intensifying conflicts between people and tigers.
Experts note that competition for food resources is rising. Saurav Malhotra, a project leader with Conservation International, explains that men who venture deep into the forest to fish are particularly at risk, and official records of tiger-related fatalities are sparse. One study suggests that since 2000, about 300 people and 46 tigers have died in human-tiger encounters. But the lasting impact is visible in the lives of those left behind—the tiger widows.
These women have long been stigmatized and marginalized. In their community, they are labeled “swami khejos,” a Bengali term that translates roughly to “husband eaters.” The stigma bars them from traditional livelihoods like farming or fishing, and it also limits access to government aid. Many fatalities occur after people enter the forest illegally, which can disqualify families from compensation and support. The result is a precarious, precariously low standard of living for their children and themselves.
A new conservation initiative seeks to change that. Targeting the Jharkhali region along the Matla River, a community-led effort invites tiger widows and other local women to participate in mangrove restoration. Led by Shahif Ali, a 26-year-old from i-Behind The Ink (IBTI), a youth rewilding organization, the project aims to rehabilitate 100 hectares of mangrove forests. This week, the women are planting over 100,000 saplings across 40 hectares of coastline between Laskarpur and Vivekananda Palli.
The project also serves a safety purpose. The two villages sit behind a single embankment that shields them from rising seas and increasingly severe storm surges. If the embankment fails, homes, farmland, and entire livelihoods could be lost. Planting mangroves in front of the embankment helps fortify the coastline, restoring a natural barrier against cyclones and saltwater intrusion, which can erode soil, degrade crops, and disrupt local fish populations.
In time, the mangrove restoration is expected to boost fish populations, providing more food for both people and tigers and thereby reducing the likelihood of future conflicts.
Mondal is among seven tiger widows currently involved in the Jharkhali project, out of a total of 59 women. An additional 20 widows are set to join later this month, and Ali reports interest from at least 75 more. Challenges remain: the women are scattered across the region, safe travel can be difficult, and earning trust takes time.
Participants are paid 300 rupees per day (about $3.30). While modest, these wages represent real change—often the difference between ignoring an illness and seeking treatment, or between skipping meals and feeding children properly.
Similar mangrove restoration efforts for tiger widows and other communities are underway across the Sundarbans on both sides of the border, including initiatives like Jharkhali Sabuj Bahini. These programs align with Conservation International’s Mountains to Mangrove initiative, which aims to protect and restore 1 million hectares from the Himalayas to the Sundarbans. The region’s dense human population presents enormous challenges, but the work emphasizes that restoring mangroves is among the most effective strategies for building resilience to climate change while supporting livelihoods.
The 100 hectares being restored in the Sundarbans may be small relative to the long-term goal, but it offers a scalable blueprint for broader restoration. Malhotra emphasizes that restoring mangrove ecosystems is central to building resilience against climate impacts, and doing so while empowering women whose lives were upended by tiger attacks adds a meaningful social dimension.
Ali envisions expanding the project to other vulnerable pockets of the Sundarbans, even venturing into remote areas as needed. His focus remains clear: create safe spaces for women who work with the program, so they feel secure and respected, which in turn can inspire more community members to join.
If you’d like to learn more about this initiative or ways to help, consider exploring related programs that support mangrove restoration and women’s empowerment in coastal communities. How do you think such livelihood-focused conservation projects should balance ecological goals with social equity? Share your thoughts in the comments.
