Sediments play a crucial role in river systems, supporting river flow and creating aquatic, terrestrial, and avian fauna habitats. Unregulated and unsustainable sand mining from riverbanks, river islands, and riverbeds disrupts nesting, basking, and breeding sites, interferes with migratory pathways for riverine species, increases the risk of bank erosion and floods, and negatively impacts the broader watershed. Governance frameworks on sand mining typically overlook environmental consequences, treating rivers solely as exploitable resources. The identification and allocation of mining zones often neglect ecological, biodiversity, riparian community, and socio-cultural concerns. The India Sand Watch project aims to address these challenges by implementing an environmental governance approach across multiple scales (the state of Madhya Pradesh, selected districts within MP, and specific sand mining locations). This multi-tiered strategy allows for the development of both regional and local solutions to the complex issue of sand mining. The project seeks to demonstrate a scalable and replicable system for protecting rivers, riverine habitats, and biodiversity, particularly in areas outside Protected Areas. This system considers environmental and biodiversity factors while involving local communities as stakeholders. Additionally, the project will create an accessible and comprehensive archive of sand mining data, facilitating public participation in decision-making and enhancing accountability in law enforcement and sand mine management.
Freshwater turtles and tortoises in India are highly threatened, with over 70% of species at risk of extinction. The genus Nilssonia is especially vulnerable, with all species listed as endangered or critically endangered. A major challenge in conserving Indian turtles and tortoises is the lack of information on their natural history and ecology. This project aims to conduct a comprehensive survey of freshwater turtles, focusing on the Nilssonia genus, in temple ponds, community ponds, and stepwells across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, and Nagaland. The project will carry out visual encounter surveys and habitat assessments, and conduct laboratory tests for water and soil quality. Educational programs and outreach initiatives will engage stakeholders, including temple authorities, the general public, and Forest Department officials. These efforts aim to increase citizen science participation and foster public awareness and involvement in documenting freshwater turtles, particularly in the targeted water bodies. Ultimately, the project seeks to restore neglected freshwater ecosystems like temples and community ponds. The project will provide valuable insights into the distribution and abundance of freshwater turtles, identify threats, aid in developing effective conservation plans; and encourage public involvement in the conservation of freshwater turtles.
The Indian Grey Wolves (Canis lupus pallipes) in southern West Bengal face significant conservation challenges due to habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. As apex predators, they play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance, but their distribution in southern West Bengal is limited to small, unprotected areas near human settlements. Previous studies have documented wolf populations in the region, highlighting the increasing threats they face. Conservation efforts have included awareness programs and pilot projects aimed at mitigating conflict and promoting coexistence. The main objective of this study is to gather baseline data on wolf abundance, understand their movement patterns through camera traps, and identify variations in their prey base between human-dominated and forested areas. Additionally, the study aims to identify priority conservation areas with high human-wolf conflict, test non-lethal deterrents, such as fladry, to reduce livestock losses, and sensitise local communities to the ecological role of wolves. The project also seeks to promote sustainable livelihoods through wildlife tourism. By addressing the scattered information on wolf abundance, habitat destruction, retaliatory killings, and hunting, this project will employ systematic surveys, non-lethal interventions, and community engagement. The anticipated outcomes include stabilising and potentially increasing wolf populations, restoring ecological balance, engaging local communities in conservation, influencing policies for habitat protection, and generating socio-economic benefits through wildlife tourism.
This proposal aims to enhance our understanding of, - and thereby aid - the conservation of Blue Whales in the Lakshadweep archipelago through a multi-year passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) project. The primary objectives are to determine the acoustic occurrence and seasonality of blue whales in the region and disseminate this information to local authorities for effective conservation management. Blue Whales in the northern Indian Ocean (NIO) face threats from ship strikes, noise pollution, and net entanglement, exacerbated by climate change. Conservation is hindered by a lack of comprehensive data on Blue Whale distribution and ecology particularly in Indian offshore waters. While previous studies have confirmed the seasonal presence of Blue Whale in Lakshadweep, long-term data is needed to monitor trends and inform conservation efforts. The project will utilise PAM with fixed recorders to gather data on blue whale vocalisations across multiple years. This method offers high temporal resolution and minimal personnel requirements, making it ideal for long-term monitoring. The expected outcome is a detailed understanding of Blue Whale seasonality in Lakshadweep to provide insights into their distribution and behaviour and inform conservation policies. Additionally, the project emphasises community participation, intending to train residents and students in bioacoustics.
The proposed project site in Himachal Pradesh faces significant conservation challenges due to ongoing developmental activities and increasing urbanisation, which render the vulture nesting landscape extremely vulnerable. The surge in tourism has led to unregulated activities resulting in environmental degradation, littering, habitat destruction, and disturbances to sensitive ecosystems. Furthermore, the expansion of road networks and the growing sand and slate mining practices exacerbate the threats to these fragile habitats. The project aims to stabilise the last remnant population of vultures in the region by addressing these critical threats. Key components include empowering local communities and raising awareness among the younger generation to foster a conservation ethic. This approach not only mitigates immediate threats but also ensures the long-term sustainability of vulture populations. By complementing existing conservation activities, the project integrates community engagement and education, which are pivotal for effective conservation. Collaborating with local authorities and environmental organisations, the project aligns with regional conservation efforts, enhancing habitat protection and promoting sustainable practices. This comprehensive strategy ensures that the project not only addresses current challenges but also contributes to the broader conservation landscape of Himachal Pradesh.
The north Bengal landscape is home to five species of hornbills: The Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Rufous-necked hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill and the Indian Grey Hornbill. The first three species are listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.
Research done by Nature Mates Nature Club in the region since 2017 has identified key threats to hornbills and their habitat at Buxa Tiger Reserve: poaching at nests, habitat degradation and fragmentation. Habitat loss is a major concern for hornbills as they require specific food plants and nesting trees for successful breeding. It’s also important to note that tourism is an important source of livelihood at Buxa. Increasing nature tourism and demand of birders and bird photographers exert pressure on local guides who have not received formal training on nature tourism. Increasing their skills and knowledge as nature guides with some guidelines would promote regulated nature tourism and improve their scope of livelihoods.
Nature Mates proposes to establish an alliance with the Forest Department to restore degraded habitats through scientific-based forest restoration practices. They aim to provide scientific and technical assistance to the Department and build capacities at the ground level. They also propose to continue their ongoing research to understand long-term patterns of hornbill breeding, roosting and tree phenology to improve ecological understanding of hornbills from this region. Additionally, via the project, they also propose focused programmes with nature guides and local schools to increase support and conservation awareness. The project aims to improve hornbill research and establish a conservation network with key stakeholders at Buxa.
Ratnagiri district in the Western Ghats is an eco-sensitive region and with crucial landscape linkage, exhibits a wide range of floral and faunal diversity including housing three species of threatened hornbills. It is a conservation priority area being an important wildlife corridor connecting to Reserved Forests and Protected Areas. More than 50% of the geographic area of Ratnagiri district is forested, but only 0.8% is government-owned, with no Protected Area coverage. These private forests are degraded due to periodical (8-10 years) clearing. Additionally, these forests are being converted to agroforestry monoculture plantations. Three species of threatened hornbills viz. Great Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill and Malabar Grey Hornbill nest in these forests.
Hornbills play a significant role as seed-dispersers to maintain forest ecology. They are dependent on the continued existence of primary rainforests so that they can find mature trees which provide suitable nest cavities for nesting. Forest loss has detrimental impact on the population of hornbills throughout its range, particularly as they show a preference for forest areas with large trees that may be targeted by loggers. Forests in Ratnagiri are lost mainly due to the anthropogenic pressures. Hornbills are unable to persist in areas where low elevation forest have been reduced to small fragments resulted in their declining population.
The outcome of the proposed project by Srushtidnyan is identification and protection of nest sites of hornbills, habitat protection and enhancement by creating hornbill food plant nursery, providing nesting opportunities by installing artificial nest boxes, and local community-based outreach programs for long term species survival. The also aim to garner larger support for hornbills and their habitats, conduct outreach and public engagement activities focusing on children in schools and colleges through the ‘Friends of Hornbill’ initiative.
Bycatch (unintentional capture) caused by non-selective fishing gear is a serious issue resulting in unsustainable fisheries. Hammerhead sharks are heavily threatened; they are caught as bycatch and are utilised for consumption and export, the former being on the rise, but is also unchecked, unregulated and unorganised.
India is in fact, one of the top three contributors to shark-catch in the world, but bycatch off Indian coasts is not always documented or monitored in a systematic manner that is useful to inform conservation and management.
The Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO) is trying to conserve threatened shark species, focusing on the Scalloped Hammerhead, off the coast of Tamil Nadu. The organisation aims to conduct outreach activities and understand livelihood dependence in Tamil Nadu. This will help develop conservation strategies and to conduct national Red List assessments of sharks of India. The group aims to create social media campaigns about shark and ray species and encourage volunteers to join in and conduct training workshops at the two sites for interested individuals from relevant stakeholders. Education and the involvement of local communities will allow people from the communities to bolster efforts towards the creation of a conservation plan for these threatened sharks.
Tholpetty Range is part of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Ghats part of Kerala. It is the connecting corridor for large number of elephants from Nagarhole National Park in adjacent Karnataka to reach Kabini reservoir during peak summer months. These east sloping, moist deciduous forests and its grasslands are home to species including elephants, tigers, gaurs, spotted deer and critically endangered White-rumped and Red-headed Vultures.
The spread of alien exotic Senna spectabilis is a serious conservation and management challenge in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary particularly due to the allelopathic traits of the species that prevent native plants including grass from growing under it. Tholpetty range has some of the oldest Senna trees, and approximately 40% of the Tholpetty range has been affected by invasive Senna spectabilis and Lantana camara. Dense invasion of Senna spectabilis is fast turning forest lands into “Green deserts”. This has also reduced fodder availability for wildlife. Kerala Forest Department is actively involved in girdling Senna spectabilis in the region. While fruiting and flowering is affected by girdling, the tree is found to coppice from the lateral roots thus reducing the potential for native grass and other flora to thrive.
Forest First Samithi has worked on this landscape since 2020 and works on an alternate approach of manually uprooting the Senna spectabilis tree completely thus restoring grass and native flora. Their technique of Senna spectabilis and Lantana camara removal is already restoring large areas of grasslands and establishing naturally regenerated tree saplings, and their work has received accolades from the Kerala Forest Department for its effectiveness.
With their project, Forest First Samithi aims to eradicate invasive species through handheld tools to improve efficiency thus mitigating human-animal conflicts. Additionally, they want to improve native floral species diversity by planting carefully selected local pollinator species, wild edible fruits, RET, riverine and medicinal plants to support wildlife and restore degraded habitats and enable invasive suppression, as well as set up native species nurseries for communities. Lastly, they want to build social capital and enable local livelihoods by encouraging traditional ecological knowledge and providing livelihood to forest fringe villages, for they have aimed for every activity to be done by a team of restorers from forest fringe communities within Thirunelly panchayat near Tholpetty range.
