In forest and forest-fringe villages, humans and wildlife interact quite often. These interactions are not necessarily harmless either for humans or wildlife. With the desire to make these interactions as harmless as possible, a couple of years ago, as part of my day job, I helped set up and train a cadre of volunteers in the forest-fringe villages of the Sunderbans. There was scepticism when the idea was floated, and I was asked why people who are ordinarily faced with multiple challenges would bear the additional cost of volunteering. I did not have an answer then but I strongly believed that in every society, there are people who gladly bear the additional cost despite their challenges.
The idea was that if each of the 46 forest-fringe villages of the Sunderbans had three volunteers, the human-wildlife interactions could be made benign. The recruitment effort made at that time resulted in 99 villagers assuming the role of volunteers through a competitive process, 44 of them women. The number of volunteers has not changed since then but some are more active than others, while some are more inclined towards certain species such as snakes. While some team up with other volunteers in the village, others are able to organise neighbours and extended family members to respond to a situation involving wildlife. They take on a bridging role connecting with the authorities and the community.
I still do not know why these people bear the additional cost of volunteering, but a recent workshop conducted by an international research consortium with 28 of the volunteers provides some insights.
The volunteers stated that the role has allowed them to think about how they can help protect the community whilst they are protecting wildlife. They felt that volunteering has opened up opportunities for acquiring new skills, meeting new people, and travelling to different locations for training and wildlife rescue. They also valued the support of their fellow volunteers and the knowledge they gained through volunteering, both for their role and the optional training to support livelihoods and income extension. Some, however, did feel that a voluntary role without any benefits was difficult to sustain; some payment at times would help them continue with the role. Women volunteers in particular mentioned competing time pressures due to domestic responsibilities. At the workshop, 46% suggested that they would benefit if they are helped to overcome the transport cost while undertaking their work as volunteers.
It is apparent that in the absence of monetary support for their work as volunteers, some may drop out. But others are likely to persist despite the time crunch and the financial pinch on account of travel. This could be because they are passionate about protecting wildlife and nature, are concerned about others in the community, are interested in opportunities to learn new skills and achieve a sense of recognition, empowerment and liberation.
Not every act of volunteering is altruistic; neither can every altruistic act count as volunteering. Scholarship on volunteering started with The Volunteers by David Sills in 1957. The book is a fascinating study of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in the US, better known as March for Dimes. Sills examined a representative number of volunteers, their reason for volunteering, their image of the Foundation, and the relative satisfaction that the volunteers drew from different aspects of their work. Scholars have since studied different aspects of volunteering, such as motivation to volunteer, related cost and benefits, socio-demographic characteristics, turnover, and yet are unable to conclusively answer as to why people volunteer or what do they gain from it.
Perhaps it is more important to examine the impact of volunteering on society, the way volunteering changes the volunteer, the processes one undergoes while volunteering, and the relationship between the volunteer and the recipients because places such as the Sunderbans pose inherent challenges to State and non-State actors for service delivery. Volunteers fill a crucial gap in underserved regions.
Anamitra Anurag Danda is an environmentalist. Views are personal