WildTeam

WildTeam is a conservation organisation whose work is centered on protecting wildlife and habitats in Bangladesh, particularly the Sundarbans mangrove forest and its Bengal tiger population. The organisation began in 2003 under the name Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, alongside the Sundarbans Tiger Project. That project originated as a collaboration involving the Bangladesh Forest Department and the University of Minnesota and initially concentrated on the ecology and conservation of tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Between 2003 and 2008, the organisation broadened its research and education activities beyond tigers to include hoolock gibbons, Asian elephants, and Asian black bears. In 2008, the Sundarbans Tiger Project and the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh were merged. The organisation adopted the name WildTeam in 2012, while its principal tiger-conservation programme became known as TigerTeam. In the same year, WildTeam registered as a charity in England and Wales. The UK presence was intended both to support conservation work in Bangladesh and to provide a platform for wider international work on tiger and wildlife conservation. In October 2013, WildTeam became registered as a nongovernmental organisation in Bangladesh through the NGO Affairs Bureau. WildTeam describes its mission as improving the conservation status of important species and habitats in Bangladesh while developing partnerships, tools, and organisational capacity for effective conservation. Its activities are aligned with the objectives of the Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan. The organisation treats tigers, tiger prey, and tiger habitat as interconnected conservation targets. It has identified poaching of tigers and deer, as well as the killing of tigers that enter settlements, among the principal threats requiring intervention. A distinctive feature of WildTeam’s approach is its emphasis on local participation. The organisation helped establish Village Tiger Response Teams in communities bordering the Sundarbans. These volunteer groups generally consist of locally selected and trained members who respond when tigers stray into villages, attempt to guide the animals back toward the forest, document conflict incidents, and discourage retaliatory killing. WildTeam presents the model as an early Bangladesh example of communities directly helping to save stray tigers. The organisation has also contributed to public policy and protected-area management. Its policy and research work supported changes to Bangladesh wildlife legislation that increased penalties for tiger poaching and other wildlife crimes. In cooperation with the Bangladesh Forest Department and the European Union, WildTeam helped develop approaches to forest patrols, staffing, and infrastructure in the Sundarbans. Its research portfolio has included studies of tiger home ranges, tiger morphology, tiger population monitoring, prey poaching, and local perceptions of human–tiger conflict. It has also contributed to broader studies concerning sea-level rise, habitat loss, landscape-scale tiger conservation, threat assessment, and methods for selecting actions to reduce human–tiger conflict. WildTeam’s public-engagement work has included a multi-phase social marketing and education programme developed with Sundarbans communities. In 2013, it organised the Wild Rickshaw Challenge, a 400-kilometre awareness event across Bangladesh involving 20 participants travelling from Teknaf to the Sundarbans. The organisation’s stated values are celebrating nature, believing in people, remaining grounded in reality, and acting fearlessly. Its broader positioning combines scientific research, government cooperation, community-based conservation, communications, and practical training rather than relying on a single product or campaign. The UK team focuses on conservation capacity building. It provides individual support and online or classroom-based training intended to help organisations and professionals design projects with measurable conservation results. Organisations associated with this capacity-building work have included WCS Russia, the Environmental Investigation Agency, North Queensland Dry Tropics, and Nepal’s National Trust for Nature Conservation. WildTeam’s partnerships have included Bangladeshi public agencies and universities as well as international conservation, academic, governmental, and philanthropic institutions.

WildTeam traces its origins to 2003, when the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh was established alongside the Sundarbans Tiger Project. The tiger project began as a research and conservation initiative involving the Bangladesh Forest Department and the University of Minnesota, with a primary focus on the ecology and protection of Bengal tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. From 2003 through 2008, the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh conducted research and education related to several species, including Bengal tigers, hoolock gibbons, Asian elephants, and Asian black bears. In 2008, the Sundarbans Tiger Project merged with the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh. This created a broader organisational platform for research, community engagement, policy work, and conservation operations. The organisation changed its name to WildTeam in 2012, and its flagship tiger programme adopted the name TigerTeam. WildTeam also registered as a charity in England and Wales in 2012. The UK structure was established to support the Bangladesh programme and to provide a base for international tiger and wildlife conservation initiatives. In October 2013, WildTeam registered as a nongovernmental organisation with Bangladesh’s NGO Affairs Bureau. A major strand of WildTeam’s history has been its attempt to connect scientific research with local action. It developed Village Tiger Response Teams in settlements bordering the Sundarbans. These groups consist of trained local volunteers who respond to tiger incursions, try to move stray animals back toward the forest, monitor incidents, and help prevent villagers from killing tigers. The model reflects WildTeam’s view that communities living beside protected areas should be conservation participants rather than only recipients of wildlife policy. WildTeam has also worked with government bodies on policy and protected-area management. Its research and policy activities contributed to stronger wildlife-crime penalties and to the creation of Bangladesh’s first Tiger Action Plan. In collaboration with the Bangladesh Forest Department and the European Union, the organisation helped develop approaches to patrol deployment, staffing, and infrastructure for the Sundarbans. Research conducted or supported by WildTeam has included the first study of tiger home ranges in the Sundarbans mangrove environment, research into Sundarbans tiger morphology, and an early tiger population-monitoring survey for the region. The organisation has additionally contributed to studies on prey poaching, local views of human–tiger conflict, the possible effects of sea-level rise on Sundarbans habitat, landscape approaches to tiger conservation, and frameworks for prioritising responses to conservation threats. WildTeam has used education and social marketing to complement its field and policy work. Its communications activities have been developed with Sundarbans communities and have sought to build public support for tiger conservation. The 2013 Wild Rickshaw Challenge was one visible example of this approach. Through WildTeam UK, the organisation has extended its work into conservation training and institutional support, helping other organisations and individuals plan projects with measurable conservation outcomes. The organisation has received recognition in Bangladesh and internationally. It received the Bangabandhu Award for Wildlife Conservation in 2011, and a WildTeam staff member received the Future for Nature Award in 2013. WildTeam’s work has involved partners including the Bangladesh Forest Department, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Environment and Forest, Banglalink, universities in Bangladesh, the University of Minnesota, the University of Kent, the Zoological Society of London, the Wildlife Conservation Society, IUCN, USAID, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other conservation and philanthropic organisations.

• 2013

  Bangladesh NGO registration and national awareness campaign

  [1]WildTeamen.wikipedia.org

  WildTeam registers with Bangladesh’s NGO Affairs Bureau and organises the Wild Rickshaw Challenge.

• 2012

  WildTeam name adopted and UK charity registered

  [1]WildTeamen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation adopts the WildTeam name, renames its flagship tiger programme TigerTeam, and registers as a charity in England and Wales.

• 2011

  Bangabandhu Award for Wildlife Conservation

  [1]WildTeamen.wikipedia.org

  WildTeam receives Bangladesh’s Bangabandhu Award for Wildlife Conservation.

• 2008

  Sundarbans Tiger Project merges with Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh

  [1]WildTeamen.wikipedia.org

  The tiger project and the Bangladesh organisation combine into a broader conservation structure.

• 2005

  Village Tiger Response Teams are established

  [1]WildTeamen.wikipedia.org

  WildTeam begins developing local volunteer teams to respond to tiger incursions and reduce retaliatory killing in communities bordering the Sundarbans.

• 2003

  Organisation and Sundarbans tiger project begin

  [1]WildTeamen.wikipedia.org

  The Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh and the Sundarbans Tiger Project begin work on wildlife research, education, and tiger conservation.

A locally grounded, research-led conservation organisation combining tiger science, community action, government partnerships, public engagement, and professional training.

• Tiger conservation programme · 2012

  TigerTeam

  WildTeam’s flagship tiger-conservation programme, focused on the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Its work has included tiger research, population monitoring, threat assessment, policy support, community engagement, and measures to reduce poaching and the killing of stray tigers.

• Community conservation programme · 2005

  Village Tiger Response Teams

  Locally organised volunteer groups in communities near the Sundarbans. Members receive training to respond to tiger incursions, encourage tigers to return to the forest, record conflict events, and help prevent retaliatory killing.

• Conservation capacity building

  WildTeam UK training

  Online, classroom-based, and one-to-one support intended to help conservation organisations and individuals design, manage, and assess projects capable of producing measurable conservation impact.

• 2013Wild Rickshaw Challenge

  Bangladesh

  A public-awareness journey in which 20 challengers travelled approximately 400 kilometres by rickshaw from Teknaf to the Sundarbans to promote support for tiger conservation.

  Outcome. The event formed part of WildTeam’s wider social marketing and education work to build national awareness of tiger conservation.

  Source

• 2012

  Rebrand as WildTeam and establish a UK charity presenceStrategy

  Background

  The organisation sought a broader identity for work extending beyond the original tiger project and wanted a UK base to support Bangladesh operations and international conservation capacity building.

  Action taken

  The Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh adopted the WildTeam name, renamed its flagship tiger programme TigerTeam, and registered as a charity in England and Wales.

  Aftermath

  WildTeam continued its Bangladesh conservation work while developing UK-based training and organisational-support activities.

  Source

• 2008

  Merge the tiger project with the Bangladesh conservation organisationStrategy

  Background

  The Sundarbans Tiger Project and the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh had overlapping conservation objectives and were brought together to create a broader organisational platform.

  Action taken

  The two entities merged and continued work under a unified structure.

  Aftermath

  The combined organisation maintained research, education, policy, and community-based conservation activities in Bangladesh.

  Source

1. 1WildTeamen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WildTeam training websitetraining.wildteam.org.uk