The death of American missionary John Allen Chu at the hands of the Sentinelese people in the Andamans has put the spotlight on the other tribes that inhabit the islands. Marine biologist Chintan Purohit has spent several months on the Andaman & Nicobar islands working with locals to develop sustainable livelihood and promote awareness about eco-tourism. Here, she warns of the dangers of unchecked tourism
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are famous for their azure-coloured sea, pristine beaches, beautiful corals and lush-green forests along with their role in the freedom struggle of India. But they have also stood witness to human history on account of being home to nearly 60,00 years old tribes still very much existent but just on the brink.
The tribal way of life
Of the four tribes which call the Andaman group of islands their home, only the Sentinels have managed to almost maintain their way of life by not welcoming any contact from outsiders. The Great Andamanese, once the largest group and the first to resist the British, are the most diminished and assimilated and live in a small number on Strait Island; the Onge, considered the fiercest, survive on the Little Andamans, a large island to the southeast of the main island of Andamans; Jarawas are the most visible while the Andaman Trunk Road passes through the heart of the forest where they live in Middle Andamans. This region is rife with conflict as the local population grows in size and the need for forest land and economic opportunities increases. It is a constant struggle with no immediate solution in sight.
These tribes are mainly hunter-gatherers, consuming wild boar, fish, shellfish, birds and natural resources like honey and tubers. While it may not seem much, they have survived in this way for thousands of years, and now this way of life is threatened. The Indian government, on its part, has made laws to keep them safe while giving them the option to join mainstream if they want.
The threat from tourists
The problem arises when tourists break this rule in order to see or make contact with the tribes, as in the recent case of the American national who tried to meet the Sentinelese. The tribes have no immunity to the germs we carry and hence the possibility of being completely wiped out. Also, they have a different set of laws and codes of conduct and hence would create more conflict with the locals leading to more resentment.
The indirect threats include increased pile-up and death of marine life by plastic, bleaching of corals by sunscreen lotion and collection of shells due to increase in tourism in Andamans and places as far as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, along with the universal threats of climate change and global warming. With rise in tourism and need for space, forest cover is also shrinking.
Hopefully, we figure out a way for sustainable tourism because otherwise there is a lot to lose for the tribes as well as the locals.