In this exclusive interview, TheCSRUniverse speaks to Sriram Ananthanarayanan, Director of Projects at United Way Bengaluru (UWBe), about their impactful Mangroves Matter campaign. As part of UWBe's broad mission to foster environmental, educational, healthcare, and rural development initiatives, the Mangroves Matter campaign has taken center stage in their environmental efforts. Sriram delves into the reasons behind prioritizing mangrove restoration, explaining how this initiative is pivotal for ecological balance and community involvement.
He shares insights into how the campaign creates livelihood opportunities for the Irula community, fostering a sense of ownership and long-term responsibility. He elaborates on the measurable social impacts and how the campaign will adapt to different regional ecosystems. The interview also covers UWBe's strategic plans for securing sustained funding, leveraging innovative restoration techniques, and advocating for policy changes. Finally, we discuss the importance of public engagement and setting clear success metrics to align with and surpass global environmental targets. This conversation underscores UWBe’s commitment to making a significant, lasting impact on both the environment and local communities.
Read the full interview to know more about how UWBe is making a significant, lasting impact through this initiative:
Q. UWBe (United Way Bengaluru) works across environment, education, healthcare, and rural development. Why is the Mangroves Matter campaign the current focus for environmental efforts? Are there plans to integrate mangrove restoration with other focus areas for a more holistic environmental impact?
A. United Way of Bengaluru is committed to a holistic environmental impact as we feel that the only way to reverse the climate crisis is to ensure we bring back the natural ecosystems along with a greater sense of ownership and accountability in the communities that we work with. In this sense, Mangrove restoration is a very important step towards bringing back a magical species which has an impact potential in multiple dimensions. The importance that is given to Mangroves globally is a testament to the fact that all of us should start looking at restoration of our lost species if we must reverse all the damages already done. In this context, along with all the other critical initiatives that UWBe anchors towards environmental conservation and protection, Mangrove Matters would play a very important role in the climate change scenario.
Q. The campaign emphasizes creating livelihood opportunities for the Irula community. How will UWBe ensure the community feels a sense of ownership and long-term responsibility for the success of the restored mangrove ecosystem?
A. Any initiative of UWBe will have multiple dimensions. Our mission is to mobilise the caring power of communities. This literally translates to a fundamental principle that we should reach out to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable communities and work with them towards upliftment socially and economically. The irular community is one such community which does not have a stability in their way of living. We sensed a great opportunity to provide with a better livelihood for these really skilled people which will also help them to feel secure, stable and also create a mindset to look at educating their next generation towards a better future for the Irular community. Apart from giving them employment, the team at UWBe works with all the members of the community in terms of empowering them with right knowledge about a lot of crucial topics including the importance of their role in sustaining the Mangrove ecosystem and are constantly working with them to create a sustainable attitudinal shift thereby encouraging them to look beyond their capabilities to lead a better life. The sense of security and the motivation in itself proves to be a great catalyst for ensuring sustainability of the Mangrove initiative where they play the most crucial role of maintenance and sustainability.
Q. Beyond ecological restoration, the campaign aims to improve local livelihoods. How will UWBe define and measure the social impact of the Mangroves Matter campaign on the Irula community?
A. As explained earlier, a major aspect of the community is its nomadic nature in search of temporary livelihood opportunities. Through this initiative, we are aiming to give them a sense of stability and security with which they will be able to think beyond just survival. We have seen the children of the some of the colleagues working with us being enrolled in a proper school and getting proper education. There has been a remarkable change in their own behaviours wherein we have seen their food consumption pattern change to a more nutritious approach, the health seeking behaviour has changed and we see a lot of confidence in the way they lead their lives. We believe that this is the spark for the change and as the MANGROVES MATTER initiative grows the standard of living of the irular community colleagues who work with us will also GROW.
Q. Mangrove ecosystems differ regionally. How will UWBe adapt the restoration approach and success metrics if the campaign expands to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala, with potentially diverse ecosystems?
A. Absolutely right. The Mangroves restoration cannot be approached as a normal afforestation initiative. There is a lot of scientific factors and guidelines that must be followed. Each region has its own characteristics and hence we have laid out a process starting from getting experts in the mangrove restoration to do a feasibility study which includes all soil and other parameters like salinity. Based on the feasibility report, the methodology and species are finalised and then the other processes are partnerships begin. 2 layers are verification of feasibility report is done before the project is initiated. This process is to ensure that we do not disturb the natural ecosystem and atmosphere of the species and we do not create any artificial ecosystem which is alien to the topography.
Another aspect is the community involvement. Mangroves ecosystem’s survival and sustainability is impossible without the support of the local community members. A detailed survey is undertaken which we call as a community engagement survey which is also used as a platform to build awareness among the community members before the initiative gets finalised. This well thought out process gives us the confidence that we can take up similar initiative in all other areas as well.
Q. Securing initial investment is crucial. Does UWBe have a long-term strategy to secure funding beyond the initial support from corporate CSR partners like Mphasis to ensure the campaign's sustainability?
A. At this juncture we feel that the initiation of the restoration and ensuring that it survives for 3-4 years minimum should be the major focus. Getting as many CSR partners as possible with this long-term vision is crucial and we are putting all our efforts towards the same. Going forward, we would like to be the knowledge and implementing partner for the Government programs aimed towards Mangrove restoration which comes with a good financial backup as well. We might explore the same soon. But we strongly believe that CSR funds has a huge potential to scale up the initiative and its impact and we are focused on that for the moment.
Q. The press release mentions rewilding. Is UWBe exploring innovative restoration techniques or technologies to enhance the efficiency and long-term viability of the mangrove restoration efforts?
A. We decided to use the terms REWILDING as an umbrella term which can mean all the methodologies of plantation put together. The idea is to bring back the Mangrove forests that once existed along the coastline which was a lifeline for the people living off the coasts. In terms of innovations in techniques and technologies, we are constantly in touch with organisations and renowned academicians to understand the Dos and Don’t’s, new opportunities etc., Our team of experts are also part of many international alliances from where new learnings are brought to the table. In a nutshell, Mangrove rewilding requires constant upgradation of knowledge and a sincere implementation approach.
Q. UWBe is part of United Way Worldwide. How will UWBe leverage this global network to share best practices and learnings from the Mangroves Matter campaign with other NGOs working on mangrove restoration globally?
A. Being part of a worldwide network is an advantage and we would like to leverage that as well. This is in our long term strategy to go globally and share our experiences and achievements. Right now, we have taken the first steps in the right direction. Once the results are there to see physically as well as from a data lens we would certainly take it to various forums with the intention of sharing the experience and doing more good for the environment.
Q. Long-term mangrove protection requires policy changes. Does UWBe plan to advocate for stricter environmental regulations or policies to prevent future mangrove destruction alongside restoration efforts?
A. We as an organisation working in the environment protection and conservations sector for a considerable amount of time believe that there are enough regulations and policies in place but the implementation of these at the last mile is where we need to work on. The MISHTI program of Government of India has very clear guidelines, procedures and policies attached to Mangrove restoration. Organisations like UWBe should play the role of taking it to the last mile and ensuring they are followed. The awareness and behavioural shift that is needed at the ground level in alignment with the policies is where we would like to work on.
In this process we would like to present a community aligned community restoration model to the Government which talks in detail about all components including adherence to policies to the sustainability models in restoration efforts. This will happen in a couple of years once we are in a position to demonstrate the results of our efforts.
Q. While the campaign focuses on local communities, raising public awareness is crucial. Does UWBe have plans to engage the broader public through educational campaigns or citizen science initiatives to garner wider support for mangrove conservation?
A. Definitely. Local communities where we work on the restoration are our primary stakeholders. Hence, consistent messaging and involving them in the entire process is non-negotiable. Apart from this, we are reaching to educational institutions especially the Government schools and talking to the children about conservation of wetlands and wetland species. We are also using all our social media platforms to keep reiterating the message to the wider audience.
This year, we are setting up an INFORMATION KIOSK (eco-friendly) in our project sites and are going to encourage corporates, schools and colleges to bring their employees or students to take a nature walk and also understand the ecosystem in detail in our Kiosks. A complete strategy and timeline is in place to effectively generate awareness locally and also to the wider community of people.
Q. The press release mentions alignment with COP28 goals. While important, how will UWBe define its own success metrics for the Mangroves Matter campaign beyond simply meeting the COP28 targets for mangrove restoration?
A. Apart from the number of species or the saplings planted, and area restored, we believe that Mangrove restoration has a potential for impact beyond this. We have divided this into 3 segments where we have defined our indicators of success.
From an environment perspective, the increase in soil fertility, CARBON stock impact in the area, Increase in Bio-diversity (flora and fauna) are some parameters that we are tracking and reporting.
From a social connect perspective, we are encouraging and reporting the amount of involvement of the local communities in this process. The basic idea of the campaign is to showcase the Community aligned restoration model. We are creating avenues for the communities to participate and take ownership which is what will help in scaling up and sustaining the eco-system.
From an economic perspective , we are tracking the other benefits on the aquatic life that the Mangrove ecosystem is going to provide. This includes increase in the population of crabs, prawns and other commercial items present in the region. This has a huge potential to increase the livelihood of the communities depending on this. We have put together a mechanism to consistently track the same with a clear baseline and an endline framework to demonstrate to the community members as well.
UWBe would like to reiterate that the MANGROVES MATTER campaign is not just about finding a place and planting the saplings but rather has a broader lens of leaving a indelible mark in the conservation and protection of our planet.
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