E

nvironment

55

P

rawn seeds collection from the Sundarbans river

ollowing pages (56–57):

Distributing indigenous fruit saplings for plantation

m

angrove ecosystem of the Sundarbans

and its inhabitants,’ says Amitava Roy from

LRRM. armers have already helped the NGO

conserve 42 varieties of indigenous paddy,

which are extremely resistant to waterlogging

and the storms so characteristic of the region.

Knowledge and resource sharing

are at the core of this award-winning

organization’s strategy. It honours the local

and traditional knowledge of the community

and supplements it with scientific thinking

to resolve local issues. It works to strengthen

local institutions and build the capacity

of community leaders, engaging with

local government and panchayats. On the

technology end, its web-based Beneficiary

Management System helps manage

beneficiaries, staff and programmes.

e difficult terrain of the Sunderbans,

land of mangroves and tigers, does not deter

LRRM’s committed officers. Amitava Roy

says, ‘We have been able to serve hundreds of

marginalized people: forest-dependent people,

those from the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled

Caste communities, landless farmers, poor

daily and migrant labourers as well as tiger-

victim families. In other words, we work for

the furthest, unreached persons only.’

HCL Grant Project Approach:

C

leaner,

healthier, greener environment and health

for poor rural, forest-fringe communities and

biodiversity conservation

HCL Grant Project Title:

M

inimize indoor

and outdoor pollution through community

based local action

Beneficiaries:

75,000 households of forest-

fringe dwellers in 50 villages

Location:

3 di

stricts in West Bengal