Friday, December 19, 2014

A brief break from the spill

Day one: In the field with one of our main characters Farhana. 

Meeting Farhana I should mention was a turning point for the development of this story. The
Farhana Akhtar looks out over the waters near the oil spill. 
original plan was to follow different established researchers working to conserve the Ganges river dolphin. But after meeting Farhana, who worked for one of these groups in Bangladesh, it became apparent that the story here was about the problems young conservationists face in S central Asia, in their battle to stay in this field. And then what the loss of the young people could mean for the future of conservation in the region. Farhana herself struggles with this issue, having a job based on grants.

Farhana works as the education coordinator for the one and only dolphin research group in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project (BCDP). She had just finished helping this group complete a major project, which was to create a permanent educational exhibit about the dolphins and whales found in Bangladesh waters, when the oil spill occurred. Her job responsibilities have therefore shifted considerably as a result, and now involve helping to coordinate field activities to access the damage.

Farhana has a minute to smile when explaining the work 
she did to help create the educational exhibit behind her
That being said, Farhana was able to take a short break to give a quick tour of the new exhibit. It includes full size sculptures of the two dolphins found in the waters of the Sundarbans (the Ganges river dolphin and the Irrawaddy) and then many kiosks with loads of fantastic information. It is immediately apparent that considerable thought went into choosing the design and the educational material for this space. The exhibit is now open for visitors to view, but the BCDP would like to finish it with a roof to help protect the exhibit from sun and rain. If you would like to help in that effort you can contact the BCDP

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