Navi Mumbai-based NGO NatConnect wins global award for mangrove conservation campaign

US-based The Globee Awards, organizers of world’s premier business awards programmes and business ranking lists, has named Navi Mumbai-based NatConnect Foundation a winner in the 12th Annual 2022 Business Excellence Awards.

The foundation was presented with a silver award for their campaign to preserve Mangroves in Navi Mumbai under government-owned port (JNPT).

NatConnet which focuses on environmental conservation, won this award for the second consecutive year. The non-profit organisation was awarded last year for their campaign 'Save Mumbai Biodiversity'. Under the campaign they mobilised public and pressed the authorities to take action for creating first ever Urban Biodiversity Plan for Mumbai.

Nat Connect in their statement on winning award said, "It was a tough competition as the Gold went to an UN-recognised Dutch organization with a presence in 42 counties and 75 000 people! Judges from around the world representing a wide spectrum of industry experts participated in the judging process."

Speaking to FPJ, the director of NatConnect BN Kumar said, "It is an honour to be named a winner by Globee Business Excellence Awards for this esteemed industry and peer recognition. This further validates our position as a team poised to successfully overcome the challenges faced by us in constantly keeping track of the destruction of mangroves and getting the authorities to act."

Nandakumar Pawar head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan added, "We have miles to go in our mission as we constantly face challenges from the mighty organisations such as CIDCO, NMSEZ and JNPT who are all hell-bent on destroying mangroves and wetlands”.

NatConnect initiated the campaign to get the tag of the Flamingo City for Mumbai a year ago by writing to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The idea was ultimately implemented by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) when it wrote to the Centre for referring to the City as Flamingo City as part of the Swachh Bharat drive.

JNPT earlier did not hand over the mangroves to the Forest Department for conservation despite a Bombay High Court order that directs officials to protect all mangroves in Maharashtra.

JNPT had even denied that it had any mangroves under it. But it was NatConnect’s repeated efforts through the RTI route that made the country’s largest container port finally admit that it has 913 hectares of sea plants. JNPT ultimately transferred 814 hectares of mangroves, still keeping the rest with it.