Manglajodi:
From Poaching to Ecotourism
An early morning in the 1980s. A village in
the backwaters of the famous Chilika lake, called Mangalajodi, rich in
birdlife. Kishore Behera navigates his boat. His early morning tryst is with
the birds that he catches for meat while he is also fishing. Fast forward to
the 2000s, it is also an early morning in Mangalajodi and Kishore Behera has
tryst with birds, but not to catch them. He is taking a group of avid
birdwatchers to show them the rich birdlife of the area. In the early ‘80s,
Mangalajodi was known as a ‘Poaching Village’. Birds were killed
indiscriminately. There was a local
belief that migratory birds vising this area had better meat, particularly for
to be fed to pregnant women. Fishing was also difficult, while poaching of
birds was less labour intensive as also lucrative. Kishore Behera in particular
was said to have the power to attract birds. He never killed them but sold them
live, as per preference. In the late
80s, an alarm call was raised as the bird population in the larger Chilika
system started declining. Since both the then Chief Minister and Chief
Secretary were both from the region, there was an added impetus to look into
this issue. There were concerted efforts by the Chilika Development Authority
to stop poaching. More awareness was generated to dispel the myth about wild
bird meat and diversified livelihood options worked out. There was also a
campaign against the bird poachers.
In 2008-2009, the RBS Foundation India, (The
Royal Bank of Scotland Group), stepped in to support ecotourism activities in
Mangalajodi. The RBS Foundation worked through its implementing partner, Indian
Grameen Service. What was a haven for poaching turned into a birdwatcher’s
paradise. Poaching activities turned into ecotourism activities and poachers
turned into birding guides. There was intensive training on birding issues for
potential guides. There was a steady income, and a sense of pride and
ownership. Since Mangalajodi was part of
the larger Chilika ecosystem, bird scientists came from the Bombay Natural
History Society (BNHS) as also other NGOs such as Wild Odisha. As interest in
Mangalajodi grew as a birding destination, four boats were bought with support
from the RBS Foundation. Two rooms were refurbished to examine the feasibility
of tourists staying over. In 2009-2010, the Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust was
established with support from 12 people that included former poachers and
activists.
Mangalajodi gets over 3,00,000 birds
particularly in the winter. The rare river lapwing has been spotted here in the
last few years. Out of the 856 families here, over 200 families are involved in
tourism-related activities. The Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust (MET) works with
100 families. Members of these families, besides being employed as guides, also
supply vegetables to the tourist facility, are employed as auto rickshaw
drivers and boatmen and are involved in other allied services. The enterprise
earns substantial revenue as the number of tourists has gone up from about 300
in 2009-2010 to over 2000 in 2017-2018. It also won the prestigious 14th UNWTO
Awards for innovation in Enterprise 2018.
Our visit there was so fulfilling with a boat
ride, a delicious meal and recounting of the entire journey by Reena, the
enterprising young lady manager, a local herself.