Nexus of Good: Rejuvenating endeavour

When Debhasis Mondal walked up to receive the Annual Nexus of Good Award this year, no one believed that an institution in a remote part of the country could have taken the initiative that Sandeshkhali Maa Saroda Women and Rural Welfare Society (SMSWRWS) has — to salvage the environment and serve the poor.

SMSWRWS has been working in North Sundarbans of West Bengal since 2009. The area is covered by rivers and deltas. Commuting is tough between deltas and the only source of transportation is by boats. There is abject poverty in the region. Consequently, the residents suffer from various problems relating to health, quality education, livelihood, daily basic needs etc. Witnessing these problems, the society members decided to empower local girls and women Self Help Groups (SHGs) by giving livelihood training and providing free medical checkup to all underprivileged individuals, and free quality education to poor students. It has been providing training in tailoring, beautician work, stitching, and jams, jellies, bori-papad making etc., so that they can earn their bread. A large number of girls and SHGs have already been covered under the programme.

While the world is moving towards digital literacy, rural India is finding it difficult to catch up. They neither have enough awareness nor sufficient money to pursue digital literacy. The society took initiative in this remote region to provide digital literacy through multiple centres. One such centre is at Bailani under Hingalganj Block of North 24 Parganas of West Bengal and another is at Nazat under Sandeshkhali-I Block in the same district. These centres have been making a difference since 2018. There are around 10,000 SHGs in Sundarbans. Hence, it was decided to cover some of these first from Nazat centre. A number of poor students and the general public are also getting digital training at the Bailani centre.

There is also a lack of awareness regarding health & hygiene. Hence, health & hygiene awareness camps have been organized for SHG workers. The aim is to extend such camps to the general public as well. Sanitary reusable napkins are also being distributed with the help of an NGO, BAALA. Awareness programmes have already been organized at a number of schools and colleges. The objective is to cover all the institutions in the region.

North Sundarbans has been beset with drinking problems for the last so many years. Available water has a high quantum of total dissolved solids (TDS). To take care of this problem, a water purifier (TATA SWACH) with 48,000 litres output per 24 hours — serving 300 families — has been installed at Nazat. However, this is insufficient for the area. Hence, plans are afoot to install a purifier at Sehara – Radhanagar Gram Panchayat under Sandeshkhali-I block of North 24 Parganas District — and another at Taki Ramakrishna Mission under Hasnabad Block.

The loss of mangrove cover in the area is alarming, especially in the Sandeshkhali-I Block, Sandeshkhali-II Block, Hasnabad Block and Hingalganj of North Sundarbans of West Bengal which forms the primary project area. Climate change, sea level rise, and sediment starvation — all have contributed to land loss and, thus, loss of forest cover. Mangroves play a significant role in the context of cyclones, tsunamis, pollution, protecting marine biodiversity and producing medicinal products. Mangroves also produce honey, bee-wax, resins, fruits, leaves, twigs etc. Many poor earn their livelihood from these products. Recent satellite data analysis by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shows that in the last ten years, 3.7 per cent of the mangrove and other forests in the Sundarbans have disappeared, along with 9,990 hectares of landmass, due to erosion, wrote Nayantara Narayanan in The Quartz on March 18, 2015. It has also been noticed that at several places, river embankments were breached during the Amphan cyclone where mangroves do not exist. Huge saline water entered many villages and inundated the agricultural land. There are instances of tigers entering villages as forests are gradually decreasing. Consequently, human lives have been lost on account of tiger attacks.

In view of the above, SMSWRWS is planting mangroves with active participation of local people. More than one lakh saplings have already been planted and there is a plan to plant another five lakhs during the next year. This is all a part of the Mangrove Project. The objective is to increase mangrove forest cover by plantation, conservation, rehabilitation and regeneration of degraded mangrove forests in the North Sundarbans. It will help combat extreme weather events and natural disasters such as cyclones. It is vital to understand the importance of mangroves at a time when frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones are predicted to increase in the future. Mangroves are a group of plants that can survive in salty soil and tides. They act as an effective barrier against cyclones by protecting the earthen banks as well as reducing the damage. They also improve opportunities for livelihood for local communities by restoring degraded areas, which would further expand ecosystem benefits to the communities in terms of fish catch. The idea is also to raise awareness of the importance of mangroves in coastal ecosystems among local communities, and to engage communities in planting and conservation of mangrove ecosystems for their livelihoods. This will create motivation in the communities to conserve mangroves for their own livelihood. Attempts are also being made to showcase the model created through the project, and present it as an example to encourage the corporate sector towards conservation initiatives.

This indeed is a great beginning in a remote, but extremely vulnerable part of the country. The Nexus of Good award to the society is a recognition of the effort being made by this institution to benefit some of the poorest of the poor in the country. They still have a long way to go but a beginning has been made and the model they present is replicable and scalable.

Views expressed are personal