Context: Under Sustainable Aquaculture In Mangrove Ecosystem (SAIME), farmers have taken up cultivation of shrimp at Chaital in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas, and at Madhabpur.

About Sustainable Aquaculture In Mangrove Ecosystem (SAIME)

• It was started in 2019 in which farmers will help in restoring the mangroves that provides ecosystem to shrimp.

• Started in 2019 by: Global Nature Fund (GNF) & Naturland of Germany.

• It is based on the concept of a so-called multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) in and between India, Bangladesh, and Germany.

• Funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany.

• 2 local cooperation partners: Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS) and the Nature Environment & Wildlife Society of India (NEWS).

• Aim: To promote the sustainable design of aquaculture systems by focusing on protecting mangroves and improving local living conditions. 

• A large proportion of the project are implemented in the Sundarbans.

• Sundarbans forest is about 10,000 sq. km across India and Bangladesh, of which 40% lies in India.

About the pilot project

• Fishing, particularly shrimp cultivation, is one of the key occupations of the people of Sundarbans.

• Shrimp cultivation is practised in about 15,000 to 20,000 hectares of the unique ecosystem in India.

• 42 shrimp farmers engaged in the pilot project had higher incomes compared to previous years.

• They are also cultivating indigenous varieties of shrimps such as black tiger shrimp (P. monodon) and giant freshwater prawn (M. rosenbergii).