Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs) in Chotila and Thangadh taluks of Surendranagar district, Gujarat ONEs consist of grazing lands, privately-owned grasslands, Reserved Forests, revenue land grasslands, and crop fields, forming a savanna grassland-thorn forest mosaic. These ecosystems are home to unique endemic and grassland-specialist species including chinkaras and striped hyenas and support pastoralist livestock. However, ONEs are often considered wastelands due to perceived low benefits, leading to development projects that threaten their socio-ecological integrity like stone quarries, cement and ceramic factories, coal mining, and increased agricultural pressures.
Sahjeevan Trust aims to conserve these threatened ONEs. The project focuses on fragmented carnivore habitats within a larger landscape of thorn-scrub forests and savanna grasslands of approximately 20,000 hectares, including village commons and adjoining privately-owned grasslands. From an ecological standpoint, both landscapes lack rigorous scientific research attention. From a community standpoint, shrinking commons have forced pastoralists to discontinue traditional livelihoods or graze their livestock in forested landscapes which has increased conflicts with the forest department.
The project seeks to use scientific methods to assess wildlife presence and collaborate with stakeholders for improved conservation outcomes, with wider implications for conservation outside Protected Areas. This includes building a reliable database of the ecological significance of the landscape focusing on mammal occurrence and distribution and threats to lesser-known species, reviving Biodiversity Management Committees in the surrounding villages, and generating education materials through primary research to create awareness among the larger citizen groups through a participatory approach.
The Melghat-Satpura landscape is a geologically and ecologically unique area in Central India, and is known for its deccan trap formations, steep hills, deep gorges, wonderous mesic sites, prized teak tress, and large-sized gaurs and tigers. The reserved forests of Khandwa and Burhanpur divisions in Madhya Pradesh are contiguous with Melghat Tiger Reserve, which has the largest population of Forest Owlets in India. The Forest Owlet (Athene blewitti) is a small diurnal owl species endemic to Central India, categorised as Endangered as per the IUCN Red List. It is found in teak-bearing dry deciduous forests, and prefers plain regions and avoids hilly areas and high elevations. At present it is found at 12 locations in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The main threats to the species are deforestation due to encroachment, and forest degradation due to tree cutting, forest fire and grazing. Production forestry in Khandwa and Burhanpur districts affects the Forest Owlet by changing the forest structure.
WRCS aims to estimate the Forest Owlet population to get a definitive idea of its endangered status. For the same, they will partner with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to develop forestry practices that are helpful in conservation of the Forest Owlet, and conduct training workshops for the field staff. Through this project, WRCS will declare two Forest Owlet Conservation Reserves and support the Forest Department in preparing draft management plans for both reserves. They will also engage with the community to co-develop solutions that will reduce the threat to the Forest Owlet. Trials will be conducted for nest boxes for the Forest Owlet, and they will distribute improved cook stoves to the community.
The proposed project draws from WRCS’s past work in the area and implements actions that will protect the habitat of the Forest Owlet in Reserved Forests. They have previously made a recommendation to the MP Forest Department for a conservation reserve in these districts. The proposed project will support this recommendation, and will help to establish a large continuous population over Melghat, Burhanpur and Khandwa.
The hill town of Kotagiri, which lies in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is surrounded by several forest fragments – which lie outside of reserved or protected forests. These forest fragments include rock outcrops, grasslands and hill wetlands. They not only provide important corridors for wildlife movement but also house rare, endangered and endemic species of flora and fauna. Species such as Neelakurinji, which blooms once in 12 years, and rhododendrons are found here, and sightings of gaur, leopard, and sloth bear have been recorded. However, with increasing developmental infrastructure, these fragments and corridors are under risk.
The Keystone Foundation aims to conserve and protect these with the involvement of local communities, panchayats and citizens, for ecological restoration and biodiversity documentation, nature education and outreach activities. The Foundation believes that there are already effective models for inclusive conservation and coexistence in the area that need to be strengthened and enhanced, and intend to do so with multiple stakeholders and increased collaboration with various government departments. They hope that mainstreaming conservation and co-existence will become a practice in this landscape.
The Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu is home to three species of Critically Endangered vultures as per the IUCN Red List: Oriental White-rumped Vulture, Long-billed Vulture and the Red- headed Vulture. These vultures are facing imminent extinction risks due to the use of Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) used to treat cattle, retaliatory carcass poisoning, modern animal husbandry practices, as well as habitat destruction.
Arulagam proposes collective action to establish a Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ) centred around the Sathyamangalam landscape by implementing an action plan for vulture conservation. This plan includes building capacity of 180 forest frontline staff to enable monitoring along with providing hands-on training for 30 government veterinary doctors on vulture and bird rescue operations. It also entails working with the communities to eliminate toxic NSAID usage, and venturing into a vulture-based agro-tourism model for the local herder communities in two selected locations for alternative livelihood means outside of cattle-based economies. Additionally, as Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is found to be a nesting and roosting site for the vultures, to also tag 10 vultures with GPS for monitoring their movement pattern and finding their home range, which will help in its conservation plan.
Through it all, Arulagam aims to support the long-term recovery of the vulture population.
While the Ganges River Dolphin is categorised as Endangered on IUCN Red List and included in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, no detailed studies exist on them in the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River system since 2010. Their survival in this river system is also threatened by accidental killing through entanglement in fishing gear; deliberate killing, generally for dolphin oil; and overexploitation of prey, mainly due to the widespread use of non-selective fishing gear. For their conservation, NEWS has an action plan. They aim to update the population status and map the current distribution of the Ganges River Dolphin and associated faunas like gharial, Smooth- coated Otter, softshell turtle and fishes in the Bhagirathi-Hooghly riverine system. Additionally, they will engage local communities through training and promote sustainable fishing gears to mitigate inadvertent killing of dolphins as bycatch. A Dolphin Conservation Network will also be formed for all stakeholders to interact, and local youths will be trained as stewards for regular monitoring and to generate alternative livelihood means via ecotourism.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands are known for their marine diversity, but they are also home to numerous karst land caves – which are not included in the global karst land map. Caves are the most significant landforms in karst lands and have been silent witnesses of Earth’s evolution and the rise of human civilizations. Caves have retained and protected important pieces of Earth’s long and tumultuous geological past. These range from ancient mineral deposits, long-gone oceans and early life forms to unique cave-adapted organisms, extinct megafauna remains and the early manifestation of human art.
For over two decades, it is known that there are close to 400 limestone karstic caves in around 23 islands here. Of these, around 200 caves are protected to save the Edible-nest Swiftlet breeding inside them. These unique limestone caves in the karst lands hold terrestrial and aquatic microhabitats bearing several known and unknown species, and are under tremendous anthropogenic pressure. Also, as caves and other karst geo-forms are very attractive geo-tourism sites, it is essential to have guidelines for their sustainable use as these tropical islands, with harsh climatic conditions, have limited natural resources for economic development.
SACON proposes a sustainable approach for the comprehensive management of cave habitats. The current proposal attempts to understand sustainable strategies for the conservation of the cave habitats at three sites in North and Middle Andaman Islands: Baratang Island, Chalis-ek, and the Interview Island Wildlife Sanctuary of Middle Andaman. These caves are known to bear endemic and threatened fauna (including Andaman Horseshoe Bat and the recently discovered Ravi Sankaran’s Rock Shrimp).
For the same, SACON aims to collect, process and evaluate the data required for preparing the cave conservation plan. They will also identify the constraints, threats, and opportunities for conserving the caves and the surrounding karst areas. Lastly, they will prepare the conservation plan for the select caves and surrounding karst lands. This will be done with a participatory approach with the local communities and will also generate livelihood.
