Company type | Charitable Trust under Government of India Act. |
---|---|
Industry | Wildlife Conservation |
Founded | 1998, New Delhi, INDIA |
Headquarters | NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh INDIA |
Area served | All India |
Services | Emergency Rescue, Species Recovery, Conservation Action |
Number of employees | 150+ |
Website | www.wti.org.in |
The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is an Indian nature conservation organisation under Ministry of Forest Department, Government of India. [1] [2] [3]
WTI was formed in November 1998 in New Delhi, India, as a response to the rapidly deteriorating condition of wildlife in India. WTI is a registered charity in India (under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961).
WTI currently focuses its resources on several landscapes like northeast India, western Himalayas, terai, southern Ghats system, central India, Sundarban and other terrestrial ecosystems. One of its projects is to protect the Sarus crane. [4]
The CWRC is a wildlife care facility that is run by Wildlife Trust of India and Assam Forest Department, with financial support from International Fund for Animal Welfare. [5] [6] [7]
The Udanti Tiger Reserve in Gariaband district, Chhattisgarh, is run by Wildlife Trust of India and the Chhattisgarh forest department. [8]
“To provide at least 750 short-term, focused, and innovative aid at times of emergencies and conservation issues so as to nip problems in the bud and provide game-changing solutions to age-old problems.”
Wild Aid is the outreach arm of WTI. It strives to deliver swift, targeted, and innovative assistance during emergencies and pressing conservation challenges, aiming to address issues promptly and introduce transformative solutions to longstanding problems.
Wild Aid, is dedicated to offering short-term, focused aid, encompassing both financial and technical support, to address emergencies and emerging conservation issues. The organization promptly responds to distressed animals, introduces pilot initiatives and creative concepts to bolster conservation efforts, and directs public attention to conservation crises. There are over 400 Wild Aid projects in India.
“To increase the welfare of individual displaced animals while enhancing conservation and pioneering science-based rehabilitation and wildlife health across India, and in doing so to save at least 40,000 lives in the decade.”
Wildlife displacement, as conceptualized within the framework of the Wild Rescue division's "Big Idea," refers to the undesired dislodgment of wild animals, either spatially outside their natural habitat or functionally within their habitat.
To tackle these displacements, dedicated wildlife rehabilitation facilities play a crucial role. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near Kaziranga Tiger Reserve in Assam and the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) near Pakke Tiger Reserve in Pakke Kesang District of Arunachal Pradesh serve as key centres. Additionally, Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) units are strategically stationed in Protected Areas where such displacements are prevalent. WTI has also taken the lead in establishing a network of wildlife rehabilitators in India through the Emergency Relief Network (ERN) who contribute to the rehabilitation of distressed wildlife.
“Recover population/sub-populations of at least six threatened species by improving their recovery states (categories) and demonstrating recovery through improved recovery scores.”
This division uses improved techniques, intensive management, conservation breeding, reintroduction, and restocking to recover populations of threatened species.
WTI has helped the recovery of the last remaining wild buffalo sub-species in central India through cloning and conservation breeding. Notably, the organization contributed to the restoration of the Eastern swamp deer population in Manas National Park by relocating individuals from Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Additionally, habitats for cheer pheasants in Himachal Pradesh were restocked, and surveys in Jammu and Kashmir confirmed the presence of markhor in new areas.
These species recovery initiatives reflect the organization's enduring commitment, carefully chosen based on considerations such as the conservation status of the species, the project's conservation relevance, resource availability, local support, and alignment with government priorities.
“To improve the existing functionality of six selected Protected Areas (PAs) and restore their ecological integrity.”
Focused on India’s Protected Area Recovery, the strategic approach of this division includes habitat improvement activities, restocking and/or monitoring of populations of endangered species, providing specialized training to frontline forest staff, sensitizing fringe communities (especially school children) about the importance of conservation, and legal and political interventions required to preserve or expand the territory of protected wildlife habitats.
Since 2003, WTI, in partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), and the Assam Forest Department, has led conservation efforts to ‘Bring Back Manas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose flora and fauna were ravaged by militancy through the late 1980s and 1990s.
Another crucial intervention has been conducted in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar.
WTI Protected Area Recovery also assisted in expanding India’s Protected Area network by getting new reserves demarcated in Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.
“Demonstrate seven innovative and replicable models of Human-Wildlife Conflict mitigation to catalyze appropriate changes in policy.”
Conflict between humans and large carnivores is an escalating problem across the country and WTI has been successfully implementing proactive approaches towards mitigating such conflicts. Under WTI’s holistic model, a team comprising a biologist, sociologist and veterinarian is constituted as a Rapid Response Team (RRT) in high human-wildlife conflict areas. The veterinarian responds to wildlife emergencies, the biologist determines why animals could be straying into human habitation areas in that particular landscape, while the sociologist works with local communities to sensitize and prepare them for possible conflict scenarios. The RRT works with the State Forest Department and the Primary Response Teams (PRTs) which comprise local volunteers and influential people. As local community members are the first responders to Human-wildlife conflict, the constitution of these PRTs among local communities is crucial to addressing such issues in the long term. Each PRT member is trained to extend support to RRT and take up activities like managing crowds, identifying the presence of carnivores, and negotiating safe passage for wildlife in conflict situations to mention a few.
All the projects follow a consultative and participatory approach in planning and implementation with all significant stakeholders of the project sites, especially where community-related activities are concerned.
“To combat key wildlife crime, trade control, litigation, and capacity building techniques that demonstrably reduce poaching or trade-in at least six taxa or geographies.”
Enforcement and Law aims to reduce wildlife crime by assisting enforcement agencies in
Trade control works through various projects across the country to assist enforcement agencies through field-level support. Information regarding IWT is shared with the state forest departments, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and other enforcement agencies for necessary action. The division has assisted in several raids and over 275 seizures of wildlife articles ranging from tiger bones and skins, ivory, shahtoosh shawls and wool, bear bile, hathajodi to mongoose hair and brushes.
Under Pan India Enforcement Assistance, the division assists in the prosecution of wildlife offenders by providing legal intervention and assistance at the District and High Court levels. This ensures that suspects who are involved in IWT face fair trials and legal procedures as per the laws of the country. The organization has assisted agencies in some high-profile cases in the past including the ones against Late Sansar Chand, Salman Khan and MAK Pataudi.
“To secure 2,00,000 hectares of critical habitats outside the traditional PA network.”
Wild Land securement is a unique strategy that aims to secure critical habitats outside the traditional protected area system. The secured lands include important habitat linkages, wetlands, mangroves, grasslands, Important Bird Areas (IBAs), sacred groves etc. The focus of this Big Idea is to secure critical habitats and restore degraded and fragmented ecosystems like coral reefs, wetlands and mangroves.
Presently, the division has five projects under it the Garo Green Spine Conservation Project, Meghalaya; Kannur Kandal Project, Kerala; Sarus Habitat Securement Project, Uttar Pradesh; Mithapur Coral Reef Recovery Project, Gujarat; and the Forgotten Cats of Shergaon in Arunachal Pradesh.
“To create a positive and measurable change in people’s perceptions to improve the conservation and welfare of wildlife in India with at least six planned campaigns.”
The Natural Heritage Campaign (NHC) division is the voice of conservation action in WTI. As the name suggests the division aspires to create a positive and measurable change in people’s perceptions of wildlife conservation and Natural Heritage in India. NHC bridges the gap between conservation action and community participation.
Through NHCs, WTI has been able to achieve ‘zero hunting’ of Whale Sharks along the Sourashtra Coast of Gujarat. The campaign is one of the stellar conservation stories that have come out of India in the past decade. The Gujarat Whale Shark Conservation campaign has successfully converted the fishers who once hunted the species into protectors. Equally remarkable is the fact that the fish has achieved an iconic status as Vhali, or ‘the loved one’ in Gujarat with thousands of schoolchildren painting it, celebrating its arrival with plays and street drama, and with six towns on the western coast of India declaring it their city’s mascot.
“Right of passage for two umbrella species secured in 50% of their landscape.”
Nestled within the Wild Lands Division, the Right of Passage big idea aims to secure connectivity and safe passage for large mammals like elephants and tigers across their identified corridors.
WTI along with Govt. of India and top scientists have identified and surveyed 101 such functional corridors across 11 states for the 29,000 odd Asian Elephants in India (60% of the species global population). The organization, in partnership with the Government of India's Project Elephant, the forest departments of elephant range states, and various non-governmental organizations, is dedicated to safeguarding and securing elephant corridors, while simultaneously strengthening human-elephant coexistence among communities in corridor areas.
With 70% of the global tiger population, landscape connectivity is a vital component of tiger conservation in India, since the dispersion of tigers outside of existing reserves is critical to maintaining the genetic diversity of the larger population. Of all the critical tiger habitats in the nation, the Central-Indian region which corresponds to the geographical heart of India supports about 37% of India’s tiger population and has been identified as an area of global priority for tiger conservation. The WTI’s Right of Passage big idea also aims to secure secured wildlife habitat and connectivity for long-term survival of tigers in the Central Indian Landscape.
An Amazon Original Series directed by Richie Mehta Premiering on Prime Video on 23rd February
Poacher is a crime drama, created, written, and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Richie Mehta. A compelling investigative crime series that unearths the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history, the fast-paced eight-episode scripted series features a diverse and versatile cast, including Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, and Dibyendu Bhattacharya in pivotal roles.. Based on court documents and testimonials, Poacher is a fictional dramatisation of true events that transpired in the dense forests of Kerala and the concrete jungle of Delhi. The series showcases the immense contributions made by Indian forest service officers, the Wildlife Trust of India, police constables, and good samaritans who risked their lives to investigate the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. Wildlife Trust of India's Wildlife Crime Control Division provided crucial technical support in the creation of Poacher.
Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2024, there are 55 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves under the project. As of 2023, there were 3,682 wild tigers in India, which is almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population.
The Bengal tiger or Royal Bengal tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late Pleistocene for about 12,000 to 16,500 years. Its historical range covered the Indus River valley until the early 19th century, almost all of India, western Pakistan, southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and southwestern China. Today, it inhabits India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and southwestern China. It is threatened by poaching, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation.
Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. KNP has 5 ranges. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to a March 2018 census conducted jointly by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,613. It comprises 1,641 adult rhinos and 385 calves.
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in need. It also promotes compassionate conservation, which takes into account the welfare of individual animals in conservation initiatives. Born Free also creates and provides educational materials and activities that reflect the charity's values.
Orang National Park is a national park in India located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam. It covers an area of 79.28 km2 (30.61 sq mi). It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park on 13 April 1999. It is rich in flora and fauna, including great Indian rhinoceros, pygmy hog, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and the Bengal tiger. It is the only stronghold of the rhinoceros on the north bank of the Brahmaputra.
Nameri National Park is a national park in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam, India, about 35 km from Tezpur. Nameri is about 9 km from Chariduar, the nearest village.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for greater protections. Brian Davies founded IFAW. IFAW was instrumental in ending the commercial seal hunt in Canada. In 1983 Europe banned all whitecoat harp seals products. This ban helped save over 1 million seals. IFAW operates in over 40 countries.
The Indian elephant is one of three extant recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, native to mainland Asia. The species is smaller than the African elephant species with a convex back and the highest body point on its head. The species exhibits significant sexual dimorphism with a male reaching an average shoulder height of about 3.2 m (10 ft) and weighing up to 5,400 kg (11,900 lb) whereas a female reaches an average shoulder height of about 2.54 m (8.3 ft) and weighs up to 4,160 kg (9,170 lb). It has a broader skull with a concave forehead, two large laterally folded ears and a large trunk. It has grey colored smooth skin with four large legs and a long tail.
India is one of the most biodiverse regions and is home to a large variety of wildlife. It is one of the 17 megadiverse countries and includes three of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots – the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the Indo-Burma hotspot.
Eaglenest or Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Sessa Orchid Sanctuary to the northeast and Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng river to the east. Altitude ranges are extreme: from 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 3,250 metres (10,663 ft). It is a part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve.
A wildlife corridor, also known as a habitat corridor, or green corridor, is an designated area that connects wildlife populations that have been separated by human activities or structures, such as development, roads, or land clearings. These corridors enable movement of individuals between populations, which helps to prevent negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity, often caused by genetic drift, that can occur in isolated populations. Additionally, corridors support the re-establishment of populations that may have been reduced or wiped out due to random events like fires or disease. They can also mitigate some of the severe impacts of habitat fragmentation, a result of urbanization that divides habitat areas and restricts animal movement. Habitat fragmentation from human development poses an increasing threat to biodiversity, and habitat corridors help to reduce its harmful effects. Corridors aside from their benefit to vulnerable wildlife populations can conflict with communities surrounding them when human-wildlife conflicts are involved. In other communities the benefits of wildlife corridors to wildlife conservation are used and managed by indigenous communities.
Tiger conservation attempts to prevent tigers from becoming extinct and preserving its natural habitat. This is one of the main objectives of the international animal conservation community. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has played a crucial role in improving international efforts for tiger conservation.
Project Elephant is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered Indian elephant. The project was initiated in 1992 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India to provide financial and technical support to the states for wildlife management of free-ranging elephant populations. The project aims to ensure the long-term survival and viability of elephant populations in their natural habitats by protecting the animals, their habitats and migration corridors. The project also facilitates research of ecology and management of elephants, creating awareness of conservation among local people, and providing veterinary care for captive elephants.
Pakke Tiger Reserve, is a Project Tiger reserve in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. The 862 km2 (333 sq mi) reserve is protected by the Department of Environment and Forest of Arunachal Pradesh. It was known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve, but renamed in April 2001 by the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. It has won India Biodiversity Award 2016 in the category of 'Conservation of threatened species' for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, invasive species, and climate change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration.
The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) was founded in 1994 by Belinda Wright, its Executive Director, who was an award-winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker till she took up the cause of conservation. From its inception, WPSI's main aim has been to bring a new focus to the daunting task of tackling India's growing wildlife crisis. It does this by providing support and information to government authorities to combat poaching and the escalating illegal wildlife trade - particularly in wild tigers. It has now broadened its focus to deal with human-animal conflicts and provide support for research projects.
Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve located along the area straddling both the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats in the Erode district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Sathyamangalam Forest Division is part of the Bramhagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats Elephant Reserve notified in 2003. In 2008, part of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division was declared a wildlife sanctuary, which was further enlarged in 2011 to cover a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 (545.0 sq mi). It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. In 2013, an area of 1,408.6 km2 (543.9 sq mi) of the erstwhile sanctuary was notified as a tiger reserve and it was the fourth tiger reserve established in the state as a part of Project Tiger.
The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Formed by individuals and institutions, IEF is dedicated to the conservation of African and Asian elephants worldwide.
Wildlife SOS (WSOS) is a conservation non-profit organisation in India, established in 1995 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress, and preserving India's natural heritage. It is currently one of the largest wildlife organisations in South Asia.
Raimona National Park is located in extreme western part of Assam, India. It is spread across Gossaigaon and Kokrajhar subdivisions of Kokrajhar district of Bodoland Territorial Region.