How local NGO is using art, songs to teach children revive Sundarbans mangroves

By Sara Ahmed*
Located in the low-lying islands in the Bay of Bengal, the Sundarbans straddle the border between India and Bangladesh and cover more than 1 million hectares, making them the world’s largest single contiguous mangrove swamp. A Ramsar site added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987, they are home to a wide range of critically endangered fauna, including the Bengal tiger, the Ganges dolphin, river terrapin, the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python, along with approximately 428 species of birds, 120 fish, 42 mammal, 35 reptile and 8 amphibian species. Having adapted to the saline estuarine conditions, more than 60 plant species can be found there.
Historically, cyclones have posed a greater threat in the Bay of Bengal than they do in the Arabian sea, to India’s west. Between 1891 and 2018, there were 520 cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, compared to 126 in the Arabian Sea. On top of sucking up large amounts of greenhouse emissions, mangroves also act as the first line of defence against flooding and erosion by lowering waves and storm surges. Research has shown that mangrove swamps are capable of lessening the impacts of major storms and other natural phenomena, not only in the delta region but also in the nearby cities such as Kolkata.

Environmental degradation

Unfortunately, mangrove swamps have suffered significant degradation due to human encroachment, illegal logging, and seawater levels, which lead to increasing salinity of the surrounding areas. Approximately 40% of the mangrove cover in the Sundarbans has disappeared over the last 20 years.
While several initiatives have been undertaken to replant mangroves, especially on the inhabited islands, a range of natural and institutional vulnerabilities have left long stretches of riverbanks bare and nearby communities exposed to storms and other natural phenomena. Despite growing awareness, it was only after the deadly cyclones Aila (2009) and Amphan (2020) that communities realised the urgent need to restore an ecological balance and develop resilience. With the help of local activists, the communities have been able to achieve partial success, but they do require more encouragement and support to keep this going and inspire neighbouring communities to take it up as well.

Water vrata exhibition of Living Waters Museum, 2018

It is at junctures like these where organisations like ours, the Living Waters Museum, play a crucial role in providing not only financial assistance but also leading capacity-building activities with youth. Established in 2017, we are a virtual repository exploring the multifaceted dimensions of water through the use of digital media, storytelling, music, theatre and other forms of art. At the forefront of such initiatives lies the project “Climate Wall”, a project created in association with US Consulate General Kolkata and led by Sukrit Sen, which helps students understand their environment and its challenges.
As part of the project, a physical climate wall teaches young leaders about the different species of mangroves and helps them develop effective strategies for collecting and growing them in nurseries. Once their roots are long enough to withstand the tidal forces, the seedlings are finally planted on the riverbeds. The virtual wall uses creative arts such as paintings, dance, poetry and music as mediums to raise climate awareness and encourage community members to get involved in local governing bodies for water management.

Building capacity

The project is based in the Sundarbans village of Hingalganj, at the border between India and Bangladesh. There we are currently working with a local organisation called “Breathing Roots” to help schoolchildren learn about the importance of mangroves as well as growing techniques so that they can withstand tidal pressures. We also discuss ways that students can take action to help mitigate climate impacts and understand how our own lifestyles can contribute to climate change. Workshops over the past year have involved media such as art, dance and poetry. The last stage of this project will include another round of tree planting to reinforce the surrounding areas against future cyclones.

Apart from these, one of the main outcomes of this project will include a Bhatiyali song, a genre of music believed to have originated with boatmen who would compose songs based on their long and lonely journeys and what they learned from their surroundings. Bhatiyali singers have thus been documenting climate change for much longer than conventional researchers, who coined the term climate change only in the late 1970s.
While this genre of music was long neglected by newer generations, the song being written will be composed and sung by our youth partners. The goal is that it will be able to serve as a local medium of interpretation and inspire future generations – they too have much to contribute to the scientific discourse of our current times.
The final outcomes of the “Climate Wall” project will be available toward mid-2023 on the Living Waters Museum portal.
---
*Adjunct faculty, humanities and social sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune. Sukrit Sen of the Living Waters Museum helped contribute to this article. Source: The Conversations

Comments

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

The curious case of multiple entries of a female voter of Maharashtra: What ECI's online voter records reveal

By Venkatesh Nayak* Cyberspace is agog with data, names and documents which question the reliability of the electoral rolls prepared by the electoral bureaucracy in Maharashtra prior to the General Elections conducted in 2024. One such example of deep dive probing has brought to the surface, the name of one female voter in the 132-Nalasopara (Gen) Vidhan Sabha Constituency in Maharashtra. Nalasopara is part of the Palghar (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. This media report claims that this individual's name figures multiple times in the voter list of the same constituency.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Spirit of leadership vs bondage: Of empowered chairman of 100-acre social forestry coop

By Gagan Sethi* This is about Khoda Sava, a young Dalit belonging to the Vankar sub-caste, who worked as a bonded labourer in a village near Vadgam in Banskantha district of North Gujarat. The year was 1982. Khoda had taken a loan of Rs 7,000 from the village sarpanch, a powerful landlord doing money-lending as his side business. Khoda, who had taken the loan for marriage, was landless. Normally, villagers would mortgage their land if they took loan from the sarpanch. But Khoda had no land. He had no option but to enter into a bondage agreement with the sarpanch in order to repay the loan. Working in bondage on the sarpanch’s field meant that he would be paid Rs 1,200 per annum, from which his loan amount with interest would be deducted. He was also obliged not to leave the sarpanch’s field and work as daily wager somewhere else. At the same time, Khoda was offered meal once a day, and his wife job as agricultural worker on a “priority basis”. That year, I was working as secretary...

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Proposed Modi yatra from Jharkhand an 'insult' of Adivasi hero Birsa Munda: JMM

Counterview Desk The civil rights network, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JMM), which claims to have 30 grassroots groups under its wings, has decided to launch Save Democracy campaign to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra to be launched on November 15 from the village of legendary 19th century tribal independence leader Birsa Munda from Ulihatu (Khunti district).

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

Govt of India "tarnishing" NGO reputation, dossier leaked selectively: Amnesty

Counterview Desk Amnesty International India has said that a deliberate attempt is being made to tarnish its reputation by leaking a dossier, supposedly made by investigating agencies, to media without giving it access to any such information. The high profile NGO’s claim follows a Times Now report about proceedings launched by investigative agencies, including Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the rights body for “violations” of rules pertaining to overseas donations.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Counterview

Search This Blog