- Awareness programme for Plastic Free Sundarbans at various markets in different ranges of Indian Sundarban in 2019
- Snake Awareness Programme at JFMC areas of different ranges of Indian Sundarban in 2019
- Awareness programme on importance of Fishing Cats in Bhangor, 2019
- Awareness programme on Mangroves on the Banomahotsob Day at Jhharkhali, Sundarban in 2018 and 2019
Awareness Campaigns
Snake Bite Management
The forest-fringe localities of Sundarbans also have immense biodiversity. Apart from the tiger-human conflict, the locals often encounter with the lesser cats and snakes on a regular basis. To reduce this conflict and make people aware of the importance of wildlife for Sundarbans’s survival, the forest department arranged several awareness campaigns in both North and South 24 Parganas and we executed these campaigns by providing resource materials and through interaction with local people.
The importance of the magical mangroves doesn’t require any special introduction. But gradually this unique landscape is facing severe existential threats due to deforestation and over-use of forest resources. To make the local people aware of the importance of the forest and encourage them in saving their own land awareness camp on Importance of Mangroves our education and outreach team regularly conduct awareness among local people along with the Forest Department's staffs.
Snake bites are a common problem in Sundarbans due the abundant distribution of several venomous and non-venomous snakes. This problem gets magnified due to the lack of awareness and infrastructure prevailing in Sundarbans added with lack of understanding of modern medicine and dependence on local faith healers. In 2019 a snake awareness program was conducted by Nature Mates in collaboration with Human and Environment Alliance League (H.E.A.L) team in Purba Gurguria village of Sundarban Biosphere Reserve. The program aimed to create awareness amongst locals regarding snakes in general, ways to mitigate snakebite and the immediate first aid treatment in case of snakebite.
We perform these awareness campaigns in regular intervals to reduce the gap of knowledge regarding the importance of these species in the ecosystem and hope to succeed by motivating the local people to conserve the diversity.
Waste Management Activities
The overuse of plastic is one of the biggest environmental threats the whole world is facing right now and Sundarban is no exception. The unique mangrove ecosystem is becoming more vulnerable due to the huge amount of plastic wastes generated and accumulated by the locals and the tourists. To get rid of this menace, we have been regularly executing several initiatives taken by the forest department in Sundarban Biosphere Reserve. Providing stainless steel utensils to the local tourism section for banning use of plastic, performing several rallies and campaigns in market areas, putting up awareness posters and above all directly involving school students in plastic waste management are the prime activities we look after in Sundarbans under the supervision of the forest department. Alongside reduction in use of plastics we hoped to encourage more people in recycling and judicious reuse of these plastics. We hope these initiatives will be a key to make Sundarban Waste free.
