The US Consul General visits Sundarban
Patti Hoffman, the US Consul General in Kolkata, visited the remote villages of Amlamethi and Kumirmari in Sundarban on February 20 and 21. During the course of her visit, she studied the activities of Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS). NEWS is working on different projects for the development of enterprises in the villages within the proximity of Tiger Reserve with the aim of reducing the anthropogenic pressure on natural resources, thus reducing man-animal conflicts. At Kumirmari, due to the gradual reduction of economically valued fish and crabs in rivers close to the islands, villagers enter the forested areas, often without a valid permit. This results in frequent instances of tiger man conflicts in the area. NEWS has taken up an initiative to encourage the villagers to shift from capture to culture fisheries and started a pilot project to demonstrate integrated fish farming and mangrove aquaculture to 100 farmers.
The Consul General took an active interest in these key projects and discussed conservation issues with the Forest Department officials, She also interacted closely with the local women community. At Amlamethi, she took time out to inaugurate a Farmer’s Field School that is part of a Project run by NEWS and funded by Global Nature Fund, Germany..
A letter of appreciation from the Consul General .