ribal communities and those living on forest fringes are being increasingly marginalised as forest cover and wetlands shrink, with coalmines and infrastructure projects getting priority and making inroads into green spaces, homes of wild flora and fauna. Therefore, it was heartening to see an ecotourism project to the north of Chilika Lake in Orissa, nurturing over 300 species of migratory and resident birds, while fisher folk and the youth of the adjoining Mangalajodi village earn their livelihood as protectors of the wetland and tourist guides.

Today, Mangalajodi, a fishing village, is an ornithologist's paradise. However, till the turn of the century, it had the dubious distinction of being called "the village of poachers". Residents of Mangalajodi and neighbouring villages would net, poison and shoot the birds flocking to the shallow, fish-rich lagoon that in the monsoon season spreads across 1,100 sq km. Trains passing by would halt at the village as baskets of dead birds were loaded for neighbouring markets. Mothers would ask children to "get a bird for dinner tonight".

Today the poachers have turned protectors because the residents of the village are stake holders in the Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust. They ply boats and have become guides for the over 1,000 tourists that flock to the wetland in the peak winter season when some 300,000 birds can be seen as against just 5,000 in 2000, when poaching was at its zenith. The guides, trained by the Bombay Natural History Society and the Chilka Development Authority, can identify the myriad birds that drift peacefully in and around the tall nodda grass and other local lads patrol the shores keeping miscreants at bay and providing information to the Forest Department.

They also cook, clean and maintain the four ecotourism cottages and two dormitories where hospitality is provided by the trust. Tourism inflow has led to the emergence of several micro enterprises in the village, like taxi service and internet cafes. Srinivas Behera did not know what to do after Class 10. Then his father helped him to get a bank loan and he purchased a bright yellow auto, which plies tourists and members of the trust from the cottages to the boats for the early morning and evening bird-watching boat rides.

Mangalajodi's achievements were recognised with it getting the RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) Earth Hero Award in 2012. In 2014, it was declared a runner-up in the Biodiversity Award and in 2010, a runner-up in the TOFT Wildlife Tourism Award. For the local boys flying in aeroplanes to the Andamans and metros to be feted brought its own joy and renewed their determination to bring Mangalajodi on the world map for bird watching.

Nilanjan Prasad Behera, the first president of the trust, recalls the revulsion he felt as a college student when he went to collect a bird for the evening meal and found it gasping for breath. It was the night he turned a conservationist and went around converting others in the village. A local NGO, Wild Odisha, also convinced villagers not to kill the birds. Poaching reduced, but alternate sources of livelihood had to be found and this was done by the RBS Foundation in partnership with the Indian Grameen Services, by setting up the community-owned and managed eco-tourism enterprise in 2010. 70 villagers are members of the trust and ten, including two women, form the governing body. The basic infrastructure has been provided by the RBS. The six boats belong to the trust. There are 10 boatmen and six guides who represent the trust, but they keep the Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 they earn in a month. Young guides like Sukanya are walking encyclopaedias on birds and the boatmen steer the low katarang to thickets to see birds mating and nesting. When a 15-year-old foreign tourist fell off the boat and got stuck in the slushy mud, Sukanya rescued her and became the local hero. While patrolling, he caught a man running off with two dead birds and ensured he was caught and sent to jail. Another guide, Sugyan and his father have made an album of the foreign currency notes and coins that they get as tips. The dollars, euros and yen are like lessons in geography, enhancing his knowledge about people and places while earning. The manager is a local girl, Reena, who runs the kitchen and keeps the place clean. Her management skills are constantly being upgraded through refresher courses.

In the lean off-season, the villagers do other work as masons and agriculturists or make nets and repair boats. Though the money made on boarding and lodging goes largely to the trust, 40% of the ecotourism revenue goes to the villagers.

Sarita Behera, a member of the trust's governing body, says her life has changed for the better. She is more confident and articulate. In addition to the work with the trust, she pounds rice and makes pickles and papad. She also works with the women's self-help groups to improve their economic status. Her family has been able to save enough money to buy a colour television, she announces with pride.

While 70 households have benefited directly from the ecotourism project, another 400 families have gained from the improved biodiversity of the lake. Since it is not a notified sanctuary, the Mangalajodi lagoon has multiple uses. Buffaloes wallow in the marshy waters and birds pick up insects thrown up by the fat marauding pigs. With demarcated fishing areas, prawns and fish are caught by the villagers.

Shashanka Sekhar Dash of the Indian Grameen Services, who works with the trust and makes their business plans, recalls that in 2008 there was no electricity in Mangalajodi, so the RBS Foundation provided solar lanterns to the village. An exhibition of photographs of the Mangalajodi birdlife was organised and from the sale of the photographs, the lanterns were purchased. Now, there is power in the village but the solar lanterns serve as backups when there is a blackout. You can see children hiring the lanterns to study at night. Winning the goodwill of the community and schools in its vicinity, the trust also provided water filters to seven schools. As its mission to upgrade the village, the trust plans to construct toilets at the back of the Indira Awas Yojana homes. As of now, only 15 to 20 houses in the village have latrines.

With birds flocking to Mangalajodi, eco-friendly cottages providing basic facilities and local cuisine, the number of tourists is expected to double in the next couple of years. With peace and security returning to the lagoon and an abundance of insects and fish, many migratory birds like the spot billed ducks, lesser whistling teal and lesser hoostling duck have turned resident. It was after a gap of 15 years that the western reef egret was seen here.

Even as Mangalajodi's dream of becoming a self-dependent, profit-making enterprise are nearing fruition, big hotel chains are eyeing the emerging tourist destination. Maintaining a balance between economic development and the tranquil environment of Mangalajodi will be a challenge.