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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions or people, nature, and resilient communities
India
SAMUDRAM WOMENSFEDERATION
Empowered live
Resilient nation
Empowered live
Resilient nation
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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years
the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver Hughes
Contributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Samudram Womens Federation, and in particular the guidance and inp
o Chittiama Buguru, Samudram Womens Federation, and Mangaraj Panda, United Artists Association. All photo credits courtesy
Samudram Womens Federation Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.
Suggested Citation
United Nations Development Programme. 2012. Samudram Womens Federation, India. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York,
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: SAMUDRAM WOMEN'S FEDERATION, India
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PROJECT SUMMARYSamudram is a ederation o 160 womens sel-helpgroups across 50 villages in Ganjam and the nearbydistricts o Orissa, India. The Federation works at theintersection o biodiversity conservation and povertyreduction, empowering its more than 1,500 economically-marginalized members with income generation activities,while conserving Olive Ridley Turtle nesting sites.
Samudram undertakes monitoring and breeding o theturtles, restores their habitats, implements articial reeconstruction and promotes sustainable shing practices
to increase marine resource diversity. Meanwhile, womenmembers and the wider community benet rom capacitybuilding training, access to micronance, and increasedincome as a result o improved sh yields.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2010
FOUNDED: 1995
LOCATION: Orissa, India
BENEFICIARIES: Over 6,000 fsherwomen and their amili
BIODIVERSITY: Olive Ridley Turtle, marine conservation
3
SAMUDRAM WOMENS FEDERATIONIndia
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 6
Biodiversity Impacts 7
Socioeconomic Impacts 7
Policy Impacts 8
Sustainability 9
Replication 9
Partners 10
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4
Orissa is an east coast state in India endowed with rich naturalesources and a diversity o plant and animal species. In addition to
arge-scale inland extractive activities largely based around mining
nd timber, Orissa boasts a 482-kilometer stretch o coastline that
xtends through six districts, endowed with abundant marine
esources that provide or the livelihoods and wellbeing o local
illagers. This coastline is also an annual nesting site (arribada)
or the endangered Olive Ridley Turtle. Three sites in particular
ttract the turtles or this spectacular mating ritual: Devi Rookery,
ushikulya Rookery and Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. To allow
he threatened turtle population to regenerate, the Government
Orissa has banned shing in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary
rea, and restricted shing in Rushikulya and Devi Rookery rom
November to May every year the peak nesting period. While theonservation dividend has been high, this has severely limited the
arning capacity o local shing communities.
A parallel challenge is depleted sh stocks in the Bay o Bengal.
According to studies conducted by the Central Marine Fisheries
esearch Institute, species that account or the bulk o small-scale
shing yields are reacting to increases in sea surace temperatures
y migrating at greater depths. This poses particular challenges
o local shers who use traditional shing equipment adapted
or shallow shing. As sh stocks have dwindled, shermen have
een orced into compromised arrangements with local traders
nd money lenders, leading to signicantly reduced incomes and
hronic indebtedness.
A women-centered, community-based response
amudram Womens Federation evolved in response to these
hallenges. The group was legally registered in 1995 as a ederation
68 marine shers sel-help groups, with 1,360 members across
teen coastal villages in the Ganjam and Puri districts o Orissa state.
he ederation has since grown to over 5,080 members, all o whom
re women. The organization credits this growth to a joint ocus on
onservation and community enterprise, demonstrated added value
to women shers, both in terms o market access and bargai
power, and positive results in improving local sh stocks. The
or Samudram Womens Federation came rom the United A
Association (UAA), an NGO working in India, who also prop
the ormation o a community-based organization called the O
Marine Resources Conservation Consortium. This consortium, a
with Samudram Womens Federation, coordinates the work o
Orissa Traditional Fisherworkers Union. As conceived, Samud
would have the distinction o ocusing exclusively on challeacing women shermen.
Samudram Womens Federation has several key objectives, a
which overlap and are complementary:
1. Promote the conservation o marine resources (particularl
endangered Olive Ridley Turtle) and the cultivation o seaw
or carbon sequestration to reduce greenhouse gas emissio
2. Ensure that economically-marginalized sherwomen can
with wholesalers and exporters
Background and Context
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55
. Provide air prices to primary sh producers or their produce by
reducing middlemen in supply chains
. Provide additional income-generation activities or sherwomen
(particularly during shing restriction periods)
. Ensure gender justice within the community through knowledge
sharing, trainings, and skills development or women
. Ensure revenues rom new income streams are invested in
education, health services, and community inrastructure
. Establish a community cooperative enterprise by providing
inrastructure, equipment, and nancial support to local
sherwomen
obbying for policy change; improved access to markets
Advocacy and lobbying are high priorities or Saumdram. The group
s active in organizing protests against industrial development
long the coast where ederation members sh. Aquaculture
onds, ertilizer actories, and other environmentally destructive
ndustries with poor track records o environmental responsibility
ave repeatedly been proposed or the region. Samudram mobilizes
ommunity resistance against this model o development, and has
onsistently petitioned against the incursion o bottom-trawleressels into traditional shing waters.
arly in the ederations development, architects o the Samudram
rogram visited traders in other states and studied demand rom
ocal markets. Through this process, they were able to determine
otential supply-chains with the highest value or members o
he ederation. Based on this inormation, Samudram developed a
usiness plan with monthly production orecasts, product costing,
nd packaging and transportation costs. Facilitating access to new
markets or sherwomen has become a priority activity and one
where the ederation has been highly successul.
Samudram Womens Federation employs seven ull-time, el
part-time, and twenty-ve volunteer sta. All are local lea
rom participating communities. Inclusion and ull comm
participation are guiding principles o the organizat
management. Eleven women are nominated on a rotating bas
the ve district level ederations. Once elected, their responsibi
include identiying intervention priorities, providing quar
reviews o ederation progress, organizing annual meetings,
assigning responsibilities to participating sel-help groups. Mee
o the sel-help groups are held on a monthly basis. The gro
purchase coastal shing rights at auctions held by the shing u
and are also responsible or training on sh-drying techni
and market access. A benet-sharing policy is in place such tha
members o the ederation see the benets o growth.
Innovation and resilience in the face of climate change
In addition to value-added secondary processing and ma
access the two other pillars o Samudrams work the organiza
has launched an innovative articial ree program to rejuve
marine biodiversity and increase sh stocks. Other activities inc
awareness-raising on climate change the implications or sherwomen and appropriate responses and cultivating seaw
On top o carbon sequestration benets, seaweed is cultivate
processing into agar-agar, a natural vegetable gelatin counte
and other bio-nutrients, which are sold to augment local incom
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6
Key Activities and Innovations
amudram undertakes a remarkable range o activities, coveringboth conservation and sustainable livelihoods. One main activity
s conservation o the endangered Olive Ridley Turtle. The initiative
monitors turtle populations sizes, protects and reintroduces
oung turtles into the wild, and restores habitats through beach
protection which may have become degraded or which are essential
or nesting. The group also lobbies against the encroachment o
xtractive industries into turtle habitats. Samudram has coordinated
number o conservation campaigns, specically opposing attempts
o subvert the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Law and rejecting the
reation o Special Economic Zones or industries that pollute and
egrade coastal ecosystems.
qually important in the area o biodiversity conservation isamudrams articial ree project, which uses concrete mounds to
imulate rees, regenerate coral, and restore sh populations. The
rticial rees have helped establish de facto territorial markers or
co-restoration zones. Bottom-trawlers, aware that the articial
ees are just below the surace, do not want to risk getting their nets
ntangled, so avoid traditional shing areas. As a result, articial
ee deployment has in essence created a marine sanctuary, where
o mechanized shing vessels want to go. The articial ree project
was piloted in ve villages, where meetings were held to explain
he technology, and to outline the potential costs and benets o
he approach. Agreement was reached that the technology was
esirable and a benet-sharing ormula was drated, which included
periodic shing rights or dierent villages on a rotating basis. The
Coastal Marine Fisheries Research Institute oversaw crating o the
ement ree moldings, as well as their deployment in the ocean.
On the sustainable livelihoods side o the equation, Samudram is
nvolved in providing a range o trainings and capacity building
opportunities to over 6,000 local sherwomen. Workshops are
provided in sustainable shing practices, the use o turtle excluding
evices, sh net regulations, and the strategic use o shing holidays
nd no-take zones. Trainings also include income diversication
strategies in animal husbandry (duck, poultry and goats),
attening, rice processing, and small-scale business developm
Importantly, Saumdram provides local sherwomen with stoacilities (e.g. warehouses and rerigeration) or their sh prod
This improves collective bargaining power, removes some o
urgency that middlemen exploit, and oers a quality control ce
Collective trade negotiations and air and equitable market ac
are navigated by the ederation or its members. Value-ad
secondary processing is provided through training in hygienic
drying methods, pickling, and producing papad, all o which
enhanced the product price acquired by sherwomen by up t
percent. The overall increase in incomes has been between 25
30 percent.
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7
Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTSThe Olive Ridley Turtle is a globally threatened species which mostly
nhabits coastal areas, bays and estuaries. The species is endangered
due to the degradation o nesting beaches, direct harvesting, and
entanglement in indiscriminate shing equipment. Samudram has
held conservation campaigns which have successully protected
hree Olive Ridley Turtle nesting sites. Their campaigns have reduced
ndustrial pollution rom aquaculture ponds, halted the incursion o
bottom-trawlers into traditional shing areas, and helped to resist
n ill-conceived and short-sighted national government policy
o create a coastal management zone that would open the door
o industrial development along the ecologically ragile coast.
amudram has also been active in promoting turtle-excludingdevices. Olive Ridley Turtle counts are conducted weekly, both or
mature turtles and or eggs. Community members have been trained
n monitoring techniques and in sampling. Turtle and egg counts are
published in a journal published by the organization. These counts
have shown signicant increases o more than 15 percent in the
Olive Ridley Turtle population.
The articial ree project has also had a number o biodiversity
benets, not least o which is the unintended but welcome emergence
o de facto marine sanctuaries. The cement ree moldings have
erved as a deterrent to bottom-trawlers, who oversh and damage
he ecosystem. At a pilot site in Pulicat, over 140 marine species
have been observed in an area that was eectively barren beorehe project. Through the program, sh breeding and spawning sites
have been protected and there has been a noticeable increase in
wider marine biodiversity, with the appearance o mollusks, crabs,
nd other species.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
The majority o ederation members come rom ve villages near
Rushikulya Rookery in Ganjam district, our villages around Devi
Rookery in Puri district, and our villages surrounding the Gahirmatha
Marine Sanctuary in Kendrapada district. The project ben
over 6,000 sherwomen and their amilies. According to a s
conducted by the Resource Center or Development Coopera
in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, the annual income o Samudram mem
amilies increased rom USD 458 in 2004 to USD 967 in 2In addition, more than ty jobs in processing, packaging,
marketing have been created through value-added secon
processing activities. According to a study conducted by the Co
Marine Fisheries Research Institute, shing productivity increase
300 percent between 2007 and 2010.
The ederation has launched nine sh procurement and proce
centres, all o which are owned and operated by local wo
These centers oer rerigeration and drying racks or resh
tarpaulin sheets or sanitation, electronic weighing machine
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well as packaging and storage equipment. Through the ederation,
ocal sherwomen have gained access to collective savings
opportunities, credit services and insurance coverage. Women are
upport to diversiy their incomes, particularly during shing bans
and restriction periods. Animal husbandry (duck rearing, poultry,
and crab attening), seaweed production, rice processing and small-
cale businesses have all been introduced with supplementary
ncome in mind.
mproved social wellbeing and empowerment
mproved incomes and livelihood options have also been
accompanied by improvements in basic services. Access to health,
education, water, electricity and housing are all provided by the
ederation to its members. All children o amilies belonging to
he ederation have been supported to attend school, with a goal
o total literacy or the member population. Plans are underway to
construct a community hospital to provide needed medical help to
he geographically-isolated region.
The initiative has also been a powerul source o empowerment or
a socially marginalized segment o the population. The majority oederation members belong to a lower caste and, as such, suer
ocial exclusion and persecution. Samudram works to change
attitudes towards this population, and oers trainings and exchanges
between the sherwomen, other community leaders, bankers and
elected ocials. With collective bargaining and a higher premium
or their products, ederation members have gained dignity and
condence and are increasingly attaining higher positions in
community decision-making processes.
POLICY IMPACTS
Samudram is actively involved in lobbying the government or policy
change that refects the interests and priorities o local sherwomen.
Lobbying is oten in objection to government policies on orestry,
mining and other large-scale extractive industries. The ederation has
been most vocal in protesting three general policy trends: repeated
attempts to replace the coastal regulation zone notication with
he coastal management zone act; the establishment o large-
cale and heavy-polluting industries under the category o special
economic zones; and policies that will result in the displacement o
raditional coastal sherwomen. A common thread running through
all advocacy work is objection to the large-scale mechanization
o the shing sector, and the harmul toll this would take on the
coastal ecosystems and on the livelihoods o traditional shermen.
This approach is balanced with communicating to government the
imperative o oering capacity building to traditional sherwo
and promoting ecologically-riendly and non-destructive s
equipment. Equal energy has been invested into calls or
stringent (and ultimately more inclusive) certication requiremas local sherwomen oten nd it prohibitively dicult to o
licenses or to legally register community enterprises.
And advocacy eorts have yielded results. Samudram
successully petitioned or: i) issuance o a notication ban
destructive shing nets; ii) creation o a budgetary provision o
establishment o an Orissa marine sheries regulation act, w
provides or monitoring o bottom-trawlers in territorial wa
iii) state government compensation to sherwomen coopera
in the wet season; and iv) the inclusion o women as pote
beneciaries o social security programs or shing sector wor
Samudram has also successully advocated or improvemen
credit access, insurance, and the provision o basic services
drinking water, sanitation, housing and electricity. This has
particularly prescient or reugees resettled to the coast rom o
state development projects, but who were given no land title, w
access, ration cards, or non-shing season compensation.
Through the Orissa Marine Resources Conservation Consort
Samudram provided inputs into Indias National Biodive
Strategy and Action Plan in 2004-2005, including legal provi
on the establishment o community conserved areas and
establishment o environmental and cultural heritage sites.
8
Avoid being penny wise and pound foolish. Undervaluing marine protected areas and displacin
traditional fisherman is shortsighted. Coastal ecosystems are home to the majority of marin
biodiversity and need to be protected by those who know them best.
Chittiama Buguru, Samudram Womens Federation
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9
Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYhe ederation aims to develop at a rate o 8-10 percent growth per
ear. NGO support and a avorable policy environment make this
ossible. With this level o growth, Samudram anticipates being able
o reach a target population o 20,000 amilies over the next ten
ears. The keys to sustainability, as identied by the ederation, are:
ontinued and enhanced access to shing grounds; increased market
ccess; improved availability o state permits, credit, insurance, and
ertication; a avorable policy environment or micro-enterprise
evelopment; access to basic services such as electricity, drinking
water, housing, and healthcare; continued nancial support rom
NGOs; and a balance o local autonomy with supportive governmentolicies.
inancial sustainability could be improved in two ways. The ederation
s seeking legal recognition o the articial ree zone as a biodiversity
eritage site. This would expand eco-tourism prospects and created
n additional local revenue stream. Samudram also intends to
egally register as a multi-purpose cooperative, which would allow
he ederation to solicit investments rom banks, venture capitalists,
onors, and the private sector. Additionally, continued expansion
o distant markets, both within India and abroad, requires external
upport and an expanded partnership.
The ederation provides some instructive lessons on sustainab
as applied in market supply-chain development. An understan
o value-added potential, market studies, and easibility studie
essential. A portion o prot should be invested into biodive
conservation and restoration activities, as marine resources
a period o regeneration. Lastly, articial ree development
valuable option to other coastal communities who ace widesp
coral bleaching and loss o coral cover.
REPLICATION
Samudram has shared its experiences and lessons learned wnumber o communities. The project model has been shared a
regional level through the Orissa Marine Resources Conserva
Consortium and at the national level with ten other states thro
an Oxam climate change campaign and the Coastal Ecosystem
Livelihood League. The ederations replication potential has
been recognized by the Government o Orissa, who has ma
budgetary provision or knowledge sharing and replication activ
in ve project sites across the state. Depending on the inte
target audience, the ederation uses meetings, workshops, train
reports, brochures, newspapers, magazines, radio and telev
eatures, and olk media to share its lessons learned.
Many traditional skills are underused or are being lost to modern culture. Local knowledg
needs to be captured and amalgamated with modern technology and research methods.
Chittiama Buguru, Samudram Womens Federation
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Make communities equal partners in conservation. They will be the drivers of climate chang
adaptation and mitigation and are the key to resilience. Resource user communities should
be treated as essential stakeholders. They have the skills as well as the knowledge to develop
strategies that are responsive to local needs and realities.
Chittiama Buguru, Samudram Womens Federation
1010
PARTNERS
he ederations success can be attributed in many ways to its robust
artnership model. Perhaps the most important partners have been
he Orissa Marine Resource Conservation Consortium and the Orissa
raditional Fisherworkers Union, both o which are coordinated by
he United Artists Association with the support o Greenpeace, the
World Wildlie Fund o India, and other national-level NGOs. The
nited Artists Association supports Samudram to leverage technicalapacity building or value-added processing rom institutes
uch as the College o Fisheries, Orissa University o Agriculture
echnology, the Central Fisheries Education Institute in Mumbai,
CAR University, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, and
erhampur University. The association also provides Samudram with
uidance on petitioning government or social services, business
evelopment support, and shing rights protection.
Oxam, the College o Fisheries at the Orissa University o Agriculture
echnology and Central Institute o Fisheries Education, and the
nternational Council o Agricultural Research provide the technology
or value-added secondary processing and train ederation members
n sh drying, pickling, and other quality control measures.
Ford Foundation and Oxam have also been important part
or Samudram, providing, among other supports, the costs o
salaries. In addition to providing packaging support and b
promotion, Ford Foundation combined orces with the Co
Marine Fisheries Research Institute o the Government o Ind
und the articial ree technology used by the ederation.
Berhampur University has been responsible or providing
seaweed processing technology, which has resulted in
cultivation o red algae to produce bio-products and to red
greenhouse gas emissions. The eld o seaweed processin
seen to have enormous potential or uture livelihoods protec
and biodiversity conservation once it is scaled up. Samudram
ambitions to become a pioneering organization in this eld, and
ocus cultivation activities on Chilika Lake, the largest salt water
in Asia.
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FURTHER REFERENCE
Samudram Womens Federation Video (Vimeo) vimeo.com/31389062
Samudram Womens Federation Photo Story (Vimeo) vimeo.com/15745686
Equator Initiative
Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1 646 781-4023
www.equatorinitiative.org
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change and
necting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.
The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati
o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.
2012 by Equator Initiative
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