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.