INDIA, Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands - January 2006
Environmental education center and plastic waste collection containers in support of a 2,175-acre no-take marine reserve for a minimum duration of 10 years
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The Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago, situated 746 miles from the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal, is comprised of over 350 tropical islands, islets and rocky outcrops of outstanding beauty and diversity. Havelock Island’s waters are home to green, leatherback and olive ridley turtles; coral reefs and sea grass beds; and the occasional dugong. In exchange for the establishment of a 2,175-acre marine reserve and a ban on turtle egg collecting, Seacology will fund the construction of an environmental education center, which will be managed and staffed by employees of the local Barefoot at Havelock Resort (formerly Jungle Resort). Seacology is also providing recycling containers for the collection of waste plastic. *
UPDATE January 2007 - Acquisition of the first choice of the land for the environmental center location was completed in September 2006. Members of the Seacology expedition to the Andamans attended a ground-breaking/beach clean-up ceremony during their site visit in late October with local school children in attendance.
UPDATE October 2007 - As of May 2007 construction was not progressing and concerns were raised. A report from August indicates that a boat is currently used to patrol the conservation area from November through May when poachers have access to the area, that staff has weekly schedules for beach clean-ups of the debris carried in by monsoon weather, and that environmental education with local schools started last spring, with classes being held at the resort café until the center is completed. Construction of the center started in late July with the foundation and wall beams completed in August. Materials for the rest of construction were purchased and transported in late August.
UPDATE November 2007 - Materials arrived in beginning of November and the building is scheduled to be completed in late 2007 or early 2008. As of late October recycling containers were purchased and scheduled to be delivered in mid November.
UPDATE May 2008 - As of April 2008 the building and recycling program were nearing completion with an expected commission in June 2008. Plans for the rest of 2008 include the purchase and installation of AV equipment and educational materials. Patrols within the conservation area are conducted during seasons when poachers have access to the area. This year project leaders reported that in addition to green turtle nesting, two leatherback turtles nested on the beach for the first time in a decade.
UPDATE January 2009 - In September 2008 the building was 90% complete with only finishing touches left to complete by the year’s end. Project leaders implemented a recycling program at the site and installed the building’s educational AV equipment in mid-2008. The first environmental education workshop was held at the newly completed “Barefoot Seacology Centre” in August 2008.
UPDATE June 2009 - As of April 2009 field representative Samit Sawhny reports that the education center is complete aside from internal displays, which have been purchased and should be delivered in June. Three educational camps have been conducted this year for government officials, environmental volunteers, tourism business operators and school children. Seacology’s funding in this area has helped stimulate other projects which included installing mooring buoys in the marine reserve and purchasing a plastic recycling machine for Havelock, which the center will manage.
UPDATE December 2009 - As of December 2009 field representative Samit Sawhny reports that the project is now complete in all respects. Previously pending items such as internal displays have been delivered. An upgrade to these displays is already being undertaken, however, as initial feedback has shown that visitors are looking for more depth in understanding and appreciation of the local ecology. New displays will be in place in January 2010. Bi-monthly education camps and awareness drives have been held since June 2009. The most recent camp, in October 2009, was targeted at changing habits of a section of resident polluters at Havelock Island (merchants, resorts, tour operators and fisherman) through awareness and suggesting alternative solutions.
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by: 
