“I had the privilege of witnessing a remarkable street play on the human-wildlife conflict on this World Wildlife Day. I am so happy to see Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Envo Care Nature Club organizing such an event.” exclaims Shri Pawan Jeph, IFS (Deputy Director, Nawegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve) while addressing the crowd on World Wildlife Day, 2023. The celebration was fully packed with activities and events related to wildlife but it was the street play, performed by college students that became the center of attraction. The play effectively highlighted the causes and consequences of conflicts between humans and wildlife, evoking deep emotions among the villagers.

Street play at NNTR corridor villages | Photo by Mahendra Bhojram Raut

It took a lot of hard work and persistent campaigning to reach this point where wildlife is celebrated.

I started my career with the Wildlife Trust of India began as a volunteer conducting socioeconomic surveys and implementing eco-development activities in the villages of Sodlagondi and Jambhulpani. These villages are nestled amidst dense forests that serve as crucial corridors for wildlife movement between Nagzira and Nawegaon. It took a decade of dedicated efforts by WTI, to make these model villages for conservation. According to the tiger status report of 2022, published during the 50^th-anniversary celebration of Project Tiger, these forests today host a between 11-12 tigers including the infamous T-9 male tiger and the T-14 tigress who have successfully raised two litters of three cubs each since 2017. With heightened awareness, the villagers have learned to coexist with these tigers.

Wildlife Trust of India, with its team of biologists, sociologists, veterinarians, and field assistants, has played a pivotal role in the conservation efforts of the central Indian landscape. Special recognition goes to people like Prafulla Bhamburkar, a renowned figure in conservation, whose invaluable experience has contributed to the success of our work in this region.

 Community awareness workshop at Ekara Village, NNTR

The central Indian landscape comprises a mosaic of forests interspersed with various land use types, often separated by non-forest areas, villages, farmlands, highways, and rail lines. The Nawegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve  (NNTR) corridor, connecting the globally recognized landscapes of Kanha and Tadoba, is crucial for the territorial tigers’ population dispersal. Protecting these extended tiger habitats beyond the Protected Area network is vital to enhance the effectiveness of tiger reserves. Unfortunately, the NNTR corridor faces severe pressures such as habitat degradation, fragmentation, overexploitation of natural resources, human-wildlife conflict, poaching, and highway expansion.

Through consistent efforts and collaborations with the government and local communities, WTI has achieved significant milestones including the declaration of Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary and New Nagzira in 2012 and the entire corridor area (640 km²) as a buffer in 2016. NNTR also declared a tiger reserve in 2013. 40% of human-large carnivore conflicts are being resolved without requiring captures. A total of 197 cases concerning large carnivores were attended by the WTI’s Rapid Response Team. Further, a total of 2018 forest staff trained have been trained in wildlife crime prevention in Vidarbha since the inception of the project. Over the years, we have been able to make a positive impact on the awareness level of the villagers and several families have adopted new non-forest dependent livelihoods.

It feels great that I have been able to contribute to such an important cause and build about confidence among villagers on the importance of wildlife corridors.

Mahendra is a Senior Field Officer in the Central India Tiger Corridor Securement Project