Jabdish Bakan wins UNESCO’s Michel Batisse Award for creating ‘green’ jobs and microcredit in Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve

Mr Bakan is the Wildlife Warden and Director of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve in Tamil Nadu. He has implemented several projects designed to motivate the community to take greater care of their environment. For instance, community members have created plastic-free zones in the Dhanushkodi and Ervadi areas, where they have set up checkposts to collect plastics from passing motorists.

The biosphere reserve's inhabitants are mainly Marakeyars who live in 47 villages along the coast where they are principally engaged in fisheries. The biosphere reserve receives about 1.4 million pilgrims a year, who flock to the island of Pamban to visit the site of the Rāmāyaṇa, one of two important Sanskrit epics of Hinduism from ancient India which narrates the life of Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala.

The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve dates from 2001 and is one of 12 Indian biosphere reserves. It is considered one of the world's richest regions for marine biodiversity. The shorelines of most of the islands are bordered by mangroves and the sea bottom around the islands is carpeted with seagrass beds which serve as an ideal feeding ground for sea turtles and for the endangered Dugong, a herbivorous marine mammal. The coral reefs surrounding the islands are often referred to as an underwater tropical rainforest.

This idyllic setting nevertheless faces acute challenges, including the destruction of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves, the overharvesting of marine resources and pollution from plastics and other waste which enters the water from the land.

Self-help groups and ecodevelopment committees

Mr Barkan has organized people into self-help groups and 252 ecodevelopment commitees. These groups run six new community-based projects, four of which focus on ecotourism and two on staffing the checkposts for plastics. Some 89 new 'green' jobs have been created directly and hundreds of other jobs indirectly. Women self-help groups run canteens at each of the five ecotourism points.

Community members participate in activities such as the planning of mangroves, the removal of invasive seaweed and coral and seagrass restoration. Some 39 fisherman have so far received cash rewards for rescuing wildlife. A local community radio station (Kadal Osai FM) is also being used to spread eco-awareness.

Microcredit to help people embrace 'green' livelihoods

Mr Barkan has also introduced a microcredit scheme to help the inhabitants to diversify their livelihoods towards more environment-friendly sources of income. Between 2021 and 2022, the amount of these loans increased by 35%. Between April 2022 and January 2023, the biosphere reserve provided microcredit equivalent to about 2.3 million euros (Rs. 20.58n Cr), the largest amount of any Indian biosphere reserve.

The scheme has boosted community confidence in the biosphere authority and management. The scheme is also sustainable: all past loans have been repaid.

An award created almost 20 years ago

The biennial Michel Batisse Award for Biosphere Reserve Management was created in 2004 in memory of the former UNESCO staff member who designed the biosphere reserve concept more than 50 years ago.

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