2005 to 2010

2005 – 2010 MAN­GREEN - Man­gro­ve Re­stau­ra­ti­on & Eco­lo­gy in In­dia

The population was involved early in the project and informed about the importance of mangroves. The people of the region were convinced that the restoration of the coast has a positive effect on their different areas of life: more safety from flooding and erosion, more food security through better ecological conditions for fish and other seafood or the use of mangroves through sustainable forestry.

Numerous volunteers have participated in the measures and reforested parts of the degraded coast. All coastal mangrove areas developed by the project will be protected under the Protected Area and Coastal Regulation Act. However, the mosquitoes also multiplied with the mangroves, so further efforts were not made, especially near the villages.

Communicating basic knowledge of the ecological context in the communities and schools of the region has particularly sensitized young people and encouraged their willingness to act. Increasingly, other cultural and economic issues were also brought into the project by the participants, and the project has since received important social significance for the region far beyond the ecological approach. Important steps were:

• Coordination with authorities, the local population and other organizations
• Information and education programs in the villages and schools of the region
• Volunteers from the villages set up plantation and reforestation areas
• Supporting children to attend school
• Initiative to improve the hygienic conditions in schools
• Summer camp for children up to 15 years
• Excursions with students and students in the mangroves
• Coastal Cleanup programs with students, students and volunteers
• Courses for women from the villages about microcredits
• Support for women's self-help groups
• Establishment of an evening school for adults
• Training on using GPS and GIS on for the Coastal Police
• Initiatives for alternative income: rope manufactory, tailoring
• Information events at schools in the region
• Cultivation and planting of fruit and fruit trees decentralized to volunteers
• Extension of the project area to five other villages

The project was honored as the United Nations "Success Story" for the International Year of Biodiversity 2010.