From December 26-30 of last year, WildTeam had the honour of hosting Her Excellency the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Ms Sarah Cooke, along with her spouse Mr Calum McCallum and her sister, Dr Deborah Jane Cooke, at the WildTeam Conservation Biology Centre (WCBC)-known locally as TigerHouse-in Joymoni, Mongla, Bagerhat, in the Sundarbans.
Late December in Sundarbans has its own character. The days were cold, unusually so, with mist and fog settling over the rivers. We spent half of each day on the water-on the 27th, 28th and 29th-moving slowly through canals and wide river channels. Most days, the sun stayed hidden. Only on the 27th did it break through briefly, around mid-afternoon. "British weather," someone joked-but even then, it felt colder than expected. Still, the visitors enjoyed it, embracing the quiet, the stillness, and the unfamiliar chill of a Bangladeshi winter.
Their time at TigerHouse was not rushed. From the rooftop, they took in the layered landscape that defines Joymoni: the rivers, the forest edge of the Sundarbans, shrimp farms, and village homes all merging into a single panorama. They visited the EK Sundarbans Museum and Interpretation Centre (EKSMIC), spent time understanding WildTeam's work, and listened attentively as our team shared the story of conservation grounded in community partnership.
The TigerHouse and the museum have been supported by German Cooperation, came through KfW and IUCN's Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP), and EchoTex. The museum was inaugurated by HE, the German Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dr Rüdiger Lotz on 13 November 2025. Mr Imran Ahmed, Conservator of Forests, Khulna Circle, senior officials from GIZ, HE's wife and son were also present on the occasion. The ITHCP ended in October 2025. The WCBC, EKSMIC and WildTeam's tiger programme in the Sundarbans are now supported by a Bangladesh-UK initiative: Echotex and Echoknits.
Out in the forest, the guests travelled to places like Harbaria, Andharmanik and Mrigamari Khal. The fog often limited visibility, but perhaps that, too, was a lesson-the Sundarbans does not always reveal itself easily. Conservation here requires patience, trust, and long-term commitment.
One of the most meaningful moments came not from a formal presentation, but from a simple breakfast table.
That morning, Tonu-our TigerScout and EarthScout from Joymoni High School-joined her mother, Ms Snigdha Mandal, for breakfast with the High Commissioner, her spouse, and her sister at the WildTeam Conservation Biology Centre. Snigdha is an EarthMentor and a teacher at Joymoni High School; she has quietly shaped many young minds in this remote landscape.
That very morning, Tonu received her Class X examination results. She stood First.
When HE and her husband and sister were to leave on the 30th, Tonu said something that stayed with me. Turning to her mother, she said, "When I grow up, I want to be an ambassador-and I want to take you with me everywhere" - a young girl from the edge of the Sundarbans speaking with clarity and confidence about her dreams.
Moments like this remind us why conservation cannot be separated from education, dignity, and opportunity. Tigers, forests, rivers, and people are part of the same story. When a child from Joymoni can imagine herself as an ambassador, sitting confidently at the same table as a High Commissioner, something is working.
During the visit, the delegation also interacted with members of the Village Tiger Response Team, BaghBandhus (Friends of Tigers), TigerScouts, EarthScouts, and EarthMentors. They observed a demonstration of how local teams respond when a tiger strays into human settlements, a sobering reminder that coexistence here is not theoretical, but lived every day.
The High Commissioner and her family also witnessed WildTeam's drinking water distribution to the community, a small but vital response to the growing freshwater crisis in the Sundarbans.
This visit was not just diplomatic. It was human. It was cold, foggy, quiet, and deeply grounding.
For us at WildTeam, hosting the British High Commissioner and her family was a privilege. More importantly, it was a reaffirmation that conservation in the Sundarbans is ultimately about people like Tonu and Snigdha-about hope taking root in difficult places and about building a future where protecting nature also means expanding what young people believe is possible.
Dr Md. Anwarul Islam, CEO, WildTeam, Former Professor of Zoology, University of Dhaka
