Conservation, tenure and politics of access: a political ecology analysis of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest in Bangladesh

This study examines how conservation governance and livelihood vulnerability intersect in the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh through a political ecology lens. The political ecology lens integrates analysis of access and power, multi-scalar vulnerability, environmental subjectivities, and epistemic governance. Drawing on qualitative research in two forest-fringe villages, the analysis shows how seasonal bans, permit systems and enforcement practices intensify livelihood insecurities, and reproduce power asymmetries. Climate disruptions, salinity intrusion and elite capture further compound these pressures, generating multi-scalar vulnerability. In response, communities employ diverse adaptive strategies, including shifting back to rice from shrimp farming, seasonal vegetable cultivation, and seasonal labour migration, that reflect both practical adjustments and quiet forms of resistance. Uneven state presence and expanding protected areas create differentiated politics of access, shaping who can enter the forest, under what conditions, and at what cost. The study argues that current co-management structures remain largely top-down and conservation centric. With comparative insights from South and South-east Asia the study highlights implications for tenure security, polycentric co-management, and the recognition of local ecological knowledge as pathways toward more just and ecologically effective governance of mangrove forests.