Mangrove Exposure Visit | 8–9 February

Community members from Sahapur Village, actively engaged with NEWS in wetland restoration and biodiversity conservation, participated in a two-day mangrove exposure visit to the Sundarban on 8th and 9th February,2026.

A total of 25 participants, including members of the Poribesh Bondhu community group of Sahapur, local women and school students, took part in this enriching initiative organised by NEWS in partnership with Axis Bank Limited.

During the visit, the community explored the Central Mangrove Nursery and indigenous crop seed bank managed by the local communities of Amlamethi. The Sahapur villagers had the opportunity to interact with the women of the Green Brigade, learning about the raising of different mangrove species in nurseries and gaining insights into their contributions to NEWS’s decade-long mangrove restoration and biodiversity conservation efforts across Sundarban.

The group also witnessed the rich biodiversity of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve, where they were introduced to diverse mangrove species and their unique root structures, observed over 30 bird species, and encountered wildlife such as crocodile, spotted deer, wild pig, and jungle cat. The exposure was facilitated by Biswajit Mondal, Zonal Manager of NEWS (Bidya Zone), along with Mr. Chinmoy, a guide from the Forest Department and Biodiversity team, NEWS (Angshuman Raha, Kaushik Mallick, Debolina Banerjee and Sayanta Manna).

Coming from the upper deltaic region, the community found the mangrove vegetation and biodiversity truly exhilarating, while understanding the importance of freshwater flow from the upper deltaic region in maintaining the unique and rich biodiversity.

The visit deepened their understanding of the fragile mangrove ecosystem, highlighted the ongoing conservation efforts of NEWS, and reinforced the critical importance of biodiversity conservation.

Together, learning from nature and strengthening efforts towards resilient river and ecosystem restoration.