Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team
The Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team (ANET) base station is an environmental non-governmental organisation set up in 1989 on 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land in Wandoor, on the southern tip of South Andaman Island to conduct research programs towards understanding of the diversity, distribution, and ecology of the islands' fauna and flora. It is a division of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Chennai, and is the only research base of its kind in the islands. It is located at about 26 km from Port Blair by road and 3 km from the entrance to the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park. The base lies 14 km south of the Andaman Trunk Road.
History
In the late 1980s, Romulus Whitaker, Satish Bhaskar and Alok Mallick set up a research base in North Wandoor, South Andaman for herpetological and other ecological studies on islands. In 1990, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Environmental Team (ANET) was constituted and with grants from Conservation International and the Royal Netherlands Embassy, 5 acres of land was purchased in 1993 at Wandoor on the southern tip of the South Andaman Island. With further grants, a base for conservation, research, and education was established. The ANET base has a library housed in a two-storied wooden building.
ANET functions under the supervision of the Administrative Committee of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust which constitutes the following persons:
- Romulus Whitaker, Founder and Managing Trustee
- Dr. Patrick Aust, Director
- Samir Whitaker, Project Coordinator
- Dr. Gowri Mallapur, Office manager
- Mr. Mohan, Accounts
Post-tsunami assessment
The ANET also undertook the post-tsunami impact assessment and evaluation of requirements for the people of Nicobar island and worked in the relief and rehabilitation process in the worst affected areas within central Nicobar, which includes construction of 400 semi-permanent houses at Katchal at a cost of ₹ 8.976 million.[1]