We’ve witnessed first hand the hundreds of meaningless deaths of turtles on the beaches of Orissa. Camped at the Turtle Witness Camp, volunteers who thought they would be witness to the wondrous arribada of the Olive Ridley turtles, found themselves on macabre carcass-counting walks instead. Horrified, angered and no longer patient enough to wait for the wheels of bureaucratic machinery to start grinding, we’ve brought a symbol of the turtle graveyard to Bhubaneswar, outside the office of the Chief Wildlife Warden of Orissa.

Continue reading "Enough is enough." »

Posted by Nayana at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s a hard smell to get rid of… the stench of rotting turtle. Together with Ganesh and Tapan of the Green Life Rural Association, I had walked ten hours and perhaps 18 km. of beach between the Devi and Jatadhar river mouths that day, counting and recording dead turtles along the way. My dreams were filled with grotesque images of turtle carcasses that night.

Continue reading "Turtles in the sand" »

Posted by Nayana at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Notes were made on scraps of paper and little notebooks - in time snatched between sun and sand soaked patrols - intense conversations with fisherfolks and other interesting personalities at the camp - entering data of dead turtles into computers powered through solar panels - taking time out to watch hundreds of magical and macabre images of turtles - dead and alive - journeys out into the Marine sanctuary areas on the MV Sugayatri; and the climax of cocktails at Coast Guard HQ Paradip in crumpled clothes - after a five hour run in the open seas along the edge of the marine sanctuary . But there was no time to actually enter these musings into the computer during the stay at camp, despite all good intentions of doing so.

Continue reading "Turtle Witness Camp - Orissa" »

Posted by Nayana at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We visited the neighbouring village with Pouvitro yesterday. He works in the kitchen camp. We (Gertraude, Gerda, Ruth, David, me and Bidhan, the public engagement specialist at the Camp and the two Greenpeace supporters from Bombay) were seated in the tiny courtyard in his parents house on mats on the loamy soil, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Continue reading "My trip to Orissa" »

Posted by Nayana at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Its hot and the only sure thing is that it is going to get hotter. Day before yesterday some of us were supposed to go on a turtle walk early in the morning, it was cloudy and every one in the group was hoping for rain. Karl, a Team Fifty Plus volunteer from Germany told me with calm confidence that as the day proceeds it would get warmer – he had checked the weather forecast a few days earlier on the web in Germany. I have grown up with the ‘weather is not predictable’ axiom and here was German assuredness telling me that there was a change in weather and that it was already on the internet. Incredulous, I looked at the cloudy skies and saw the fickleness of the weather and the blind faith in technology. Were the fickle weather gods being replaced by the straight lined hard laced devas of technology? Neither was reassuring.

Continue reading "The heat is on" »

Posted by Nayana at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What a day! Exhausted, sweaty and bruised from an eventful drive through countless villages, made more colourful by crazy traffic, huge potholes and groups of smiling children along the way, we arrive at around ten p.m. at the turtle witness camp. Who’s we? We are Gerda, Gertraude, Ruth, Karl and myself, Hans - the five members of the German Greenpeace-Team 50plus from Munich, Heidelberg, Dortmund and Hamburg.

With us is also Cathrin Groll, Volunteer Coordinator for Greenpeace in Germany. Whether our hosts at the Turtle Witness Camp are surprised to see us (five white-haired Caucasians from chilly Germany) can only be assumed. The reception is anyhow very cordial. Welcome home!

Continue reading "The Endless Night" »

Posted by Nayana at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been skippering trawlers over the last 10 years. This year I have a much better job! Since the 24th of November 2005, I have been the captain of the Greenpeace vessel the MV Sugayatri.

Working with Greenpeace on the Sugayatri has been a remarkable experience for me, as it has given me the chance to be involved in the effort to save one of the last arribadas of the Olive Ridley Turtle. As a fisherman, I am familiar with these waters. However, the oceans teach you new lessons all the time – this time around I am beginning to understand the significance of the turtles in maintaining the balance of the marine ecosystem. The turtle, I have come to know, plays a key role in balancing the marine ecosystem and cleansing the seas, being a scavenger as well.

Continue reading "The little boat of hope, MV Sugayatri, and the man behind it" »

Posted by Nayana at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have the (enviable? unenviable?) job of being the Camp Manager at the Turtle Witness Camp. The camp consists of six residential tents that house four people each, a large translucent green dome that is the office, and part of the Bandar pier. This is the recreation area, a cemented stretch of land that is quite cool even in the blinding sun of midday, and that offers a great view of the river winding its leisurely way to the sea.

Situated on the banks of the Kathajodi River, about a kilometer and a half from the Bay of Bengal, the camp is staffed by volunteers from all over the world who are here to ‘Bear Witness’ and draw global attention to the fast depleting numbers of the Olive Ridleys who come here to nest.

Continue reading "Home away from Home" »

Posted by Nayana at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In our line of work, it’s easy to focus on the things we’re trying to stop, whether it is whaling, unsafe ship-breaking, or trawling, and lose sight of what we’re trying to save.

Last night was a lesson in what exactly it is we’re fighting to protect. We’ve talked for months about the importance of saving the Olive Ridley, but yesterday was the day, when, for me, everything fell into place.

Continue reading "Save. Stop. Save." »

Posted by Nayana at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

They’re here. The beginning of one of the greatest natural wonders in the world announced itself with a series of rumors and whispers. The arribada of the Olive Ridley turtle at the Rushikulya beach in Orissa has begun. And Greenpeace activists and volunteers were there to document it, part of our efforts to ensure that this is not the last time the world gets to see such an unbelievable sight.

Walking along Rushikulya beach at 3.00am, it’s difficult to make out the shapes of turtles thrashing around on the beach in the moonlight. But the tracks of thousands of turtles who have heaved their heavy shells through the sand to lay their eggs were very prominent in the dim light and even the sights of freshly disturbed nests were easy to see.

Continue reading "Maternity Ward in Moonlight" »

Posted by Namrata at 05:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

’94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 and that’s 100’, we (Danielle and Ian) paused, ‘101……….102’ and continued, ‘103’ ‘and there’s another one, 104!’

Sitting on our comfortable red sofa eight months ago we attempted to plan our ‘first trip around the world’, but something was missing.

‘105’

The list was endless, Russia, China, South East Asia, The Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, Australia; Melbourne, Sydney, New Zealand, Icebergs, Iceland, Ireland. We had included everything in our twelve month voyage, that is to say everything except a point.

‘106’

Combining our interests in ecology and conservation and with a little research we found a list of the ten most endangered species and plotted them on a map.

Continue reading "Endangered species everywhere!" »

Posted by Namrata at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On the 7th of February, the Sugayatri set out again, heading for the northernmost segment of the Gahirmatha Sanctuary to lay the last two buoys to demarcate the sanctuary’s core ‘no-fishing’ zone, using the coordinates stipulated by the forest department.

After a four hour sail we reach the coordinates and deploy Buoy 7, and then continue north. The setting sun and a thick bank of fog that seems to be closing in reduce visibility, but Arjun, (the Sugayatri’s captain), is as keen-eyed as ever and spots ahead and to the west… small dark shapes on the surface, there one instant, gone the next… a pod of dolphins!

Continue reading "Dolphins at dusk" »

Posted by Namrata at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On the 28th of January, a team of intrepid Ocean Defenders, having finished the demarcation activity, set out for Rushikulya on board the Greenpeace vessel, Sugayatri. Although excitement runs high, with everyone confident "today is the day we get some real work done!" a leaking radiator tank delays us and unconscious thoughts of jinxes and bad luck rear their heads. The super-efficient crew fixes the problem within a couple of hours though, and by noon the crew is off!

Continue reading "The Circle of Life" »

Posted by Namrata at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Greenpeace Sugayatri has sailed out of Paradip. We’re heading north today, to the mouth of the Dhamra river where we hope to conduct underwater documentation of this little known area.

Earlier today, we heard that the Forest Department had served us with a ‘show cause’ notice – asking us to explain our ‘illegal’ entry into the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary (GMS), referring to the day on which we deployed the first two buoys to demarcate the marine sanctuary.

Continue reading "Of Turtles, dead and alive" »

Posted by Namrata at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The Greenpeace Turtle Witness Camp was launched on 27th January and in the first week alone, our activists and volunteers at the camp have witnessed the circle of life in all its gore and glory. They've watched, awe-struck, as scores of mating Olive Ridley turtles surface around the Greenpeace vessel, MV Sugayatri. They've walked the beaches of Orissa, deeply moved by the many dead turtles literally dotting the sand. And then found hope again as flipper tracks in the sand provide evidence that the big mamas have been visiting.

Continue reading "Welcome to the Turtle Witness Camp" »

Posted by brianfit at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)