Indigenous people

It is sometimes assumed that protected areas must be in conflict with the rights and traditions of indigenous and other traditional peoples on their domains. In reality, where indigenous peoples are interested in the conservation and traditional use of their lands, waters, territories and the natural and cultural resources that they contain, conflicts need not arise.

The Sundarbans, the immense target_idal mangrove forests of Bangladesh, are a mosaic of islands of different shapes and sizes, perennially washed by brackish water swirling in and around the endless and mind-boggling labyrinths of twisting water channels. This is the place where mainland Bangladesh meets the Bay of Bengal, making the area a globally unique ecological niche.

It is sometimes assumed that protected areas must be in conflict with the rights and traditions of indigenous and other traditional peoples on their domains. In reality, where indigenous peoples are interested in the conservation and traditional use of their lands, waters, territories and the natural and cultural resources that they contain, conflicts need not arise.