Wild Lands

Big Idea: To secure 2,00,000 hectares of critical habitats outside the traditional PA network.

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 latest addition is the Forgotten Cats of Shergaon in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Garo Hills of Meghalaya are home to several species of flora and fauna and support a rich biodiversity. With the support from World Land Trust, IUCN NL, HCL Foundation, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, the GHADC and the Forest Department, WTI has been working for almost two decades to restore forest patches and connect important habitats of Garo Green Spine, Garo Hills to ensure the smooth passage of elephants and other wildlife. The project follows the community securement model of habitat securement where community-owned lands are set aside through easements or bilateral benefit-sharing models as Village Reserve Forests (VRFs).

The Kannur Kandal Project is majorly aimed at restoring the species-rich mangrove habitat in the district of Kannur, Kerala, which holds more than 50% of the mangroves of the state. To ensure the survival of existing mangroves and increase the acreage of such habitats, WTI has been focusing on the mangrove land purchase, and ecological restoration of degraded mangrove habitats through community and government participation, outreach and awareness as well as research. With the support of World Land Trust, Apollo Tyres, SBI Foundation and individual grants, WTI has acquired a species-rich mangrove habitat in Kunhimangalam village in Kannur, as the hub of the project.

Uttar Pradesh is a stronghold of the Sarus Crane, India’s only resident breeding crane and the world’s tallest flying bird. With the support from Tata Trusts and the World Land Trust, WTI has been working in 10 districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh for almost the last decade to protect and conserve the State Bird of U.P., the Sarus Crane, as well as its key habitat – the Wetlands. Before 2019, the objective of the project was to primarily conserve the Sarus Crane that resided in agricultural fields and mosaics of wetland habitats, outside of protected areas. However, post 2019, the project had a broader vision as the focal point became the securement of wetlands in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, which are not only a key habitat for the Sarus Crane but are also a critical ecosystem, supporting biodiversity as well as local communities.

underwater wild lands at Mithapur coral reef project

The Coral Reef Recovery Project, launched in 2008, is a joint venture of WTI and the Gujarat Forest Department, supported by Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) / C-SCAPES. It seeks to develop and implement appropriate strategies for the conservation of the Mithapur Reef, situated 12 kilometres south of the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. The project, with initial support received from the World Land Trust, is also working on the recovery of coral reefs in Gujarat’s Marine National Park. In Mithapur, the project envisions the creation of a model public-private-managed coral ecosystem of international standards using global benchmarks to restore degraded reefs through activities including coral transplantation and natural recruitment.

The latest project to have come into Wild Lands is the Forgotten Cats of Shergaon in Arunachal Pradesh where, with the support of Felis, Eicher Group Foundation (EGF) and Shapoorji Pallonji Pandoh Takoli Highway Pvt. Ltd., WTI aims to secure the key habitats of the small cat species in the village of Shergaon, Arunachal Pradesh.

Current Projects Involved: