the fifth es

tate

14

WILDLIFE

TRUST OF INDIA

HCL Grant Recipient

Environment, 2019

HCL Grant Project Title:

C

onnecting

Landscapes, Empowering People and

Protecting Elephants – An Initiative to Secure

the Baghmara-Balpakram Elephant Corridor

and Protect the Wildlife Habitats

of Garo Hills, Meghalaya

rough nearly 50 projects across the country,

the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) addresses

its mandate to conserve wildlife and habitat,

and to work for the welfare of individual wild

animals in partnership with communities

and governments. It has assisted the orest

Department in rescuing over 5,000 wild

animals, conducts anti-poaching training,

and has insured orest Department staff.

Government bodies such as the Garo Hills

Autonomous District Council (GHADC),

Meghalaya State orest Department, District

Medical and Health Office are closely working

with WTI on the project.

Livelihood and lifestyle of beneficiary

families have been strengthened through

innovative interventions including skill

development, eco-development and

community support by 25 per cent for

over 1,000 beneficiaries in five years.

Livelihood and lifestyle improvement

interventions for local communities

include a computer centre and education

support to students and youth; renovation

of a government school for 350 students;

offering livelihood opportunities for wage

work for rejuvenation of fisheries, ponds,

school renovation and plantation activities;

restoring degraded habitats of 150 hectares

in corridor forests with 150,000 standing

trees through plantation and Assisted

Natural Regeneration; getting 350+ hectares

of land for afforestation; documenting

wildlife movement and presence in the

corridor village forests; and strengthening

human-elephant coexistence in VR

villages. High electric fencing set up in the

VR’s human-elephant conflict zone and

assessment of biodiversity in the VR sites

has been done. At least 25,000 people have

been sensitized on the importance of the

natural and traditional heritage of Garo

Hills and conservation practices.