The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is a non-profit conservation organisation dedicated to safeguarding India's natural heritage. It is an Indian conservation organization. WTI was founded in November 1998 in New Delhi, India, in response to the rapidly deteriorating state of wildlife in India. Wildlife Trust of India is a registered charity in India (under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961). In this article, we will discuss Wildlife Trust of India which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Jointly run centres

• The Wildlife Trust of India and the Assam Forest Department run the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, which is funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
• The Wildlife Trust of India and the Chhattisgarh Forest Department jointly manage the Udanti Tiger Reserve in Gariaband district, Chhattisgarh.

Wildlife Trust of India - Conservation Achievements

• India has one of the world's richest biodiversity reserves and has been conscious of its rich natural heritage and conservation priorities. The Indian government and civil society organisations have taken the lead on this front.
• The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a leading Indian nature conservation organisation dedicated to the service of nature, is one such organisation.
• WTI currently operates 44 projects in India.
• While working tirelessly in partnership with communities and governments to achieve its mission of conserving wildlife and its habitat, as well as the welfare of individual wild animals, WTI has reached some significant conservation milestones.
• WTI's conservation efforts have also aided hornbills, which are particularly endangered in North-east India.
  • The Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh adorned their headgears with hornbill beaks, which served as a source of pride for the entire community. As a result, hundreds of hornbills are killed each year.
  • Instead of killing the bird, WTI intervened and persuaded the tribe to use fibreglass hornbill beaks to adorn their headgears.
  • Not only has the slaughter ceased, but the tribal community is now earning a living by producing these fibreglass beaks.
• Elephants, which have a large home range and food requirements that necessitate transboundary movement, have been among the species most affected by habitat alteration and loss of habitat connectivity.
  • WTI is the first Indian organisation to map 101 corridors used by Asian Elephants to traverse the country.
  • It has also published a seminal publication on corridor securement, "The Right of Passage," which explains the four workable securement models.
  • Six of these corridors have already been secured with the assistance of the state government and international partners.

Manas Landscape

• WTI's Greater Manas Conservation Project restored the ecological functionality of the Manas landscape, restoring it to its former glory.
• The Manas Landscape is home to a diverse range of wildlife, including many endangered species, and is located at the crossroads of three bio-geographic realms: the lower Gangetic plain, the Central Himalayas, and the Brahmaputra Valley. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
• The landscape has five conservation designations: Tiger Reserve, National Park, Elephant Reserve, Biosphere Reserve, and World Heritage Site.
• Since early 1988, civil and political unrest caused by the ethnic Bodo community's demand for a separate "Bodoland" has resulted in extensive damage to the landscape's wildlife and wild habitats.
• However, after the formation of the "Bodoland Territorial Council" in 2003, with a tripartite agreement between the Bodoland People's Front, the Government of Assam, and the Government of India for the creation of a territorial council, peace and normalcy prevailed.
• WTI's efforts, in collaboration with its partner, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), were successful in adding 350 square kilometres of land to the existing National Park, which was officially designated as the "First Addition to Manas National Park."
• The critical ecosystem, which was once listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in danger, has been resurrected.

WTI's Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC)

• WTI's Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), located near Kaziranga National Park in Assam, is India's only facility where orphaned and/or injured wild animals of various species are hand-raised and/or treated before being released back into the wild.
• The centre, which is strategically located in Borjuri village adjacent to the Panbari Reserve Forest, responds to a wide range of wildlife emergencies caused by natural or anthropogenic causes.
• It was founded in 2002 by WTI in collaboration with IFAW and the Assam Forest Department.
• During the rescue, treatment, and rehabilitation of displaced or distressed animals, the centre adheres to accepted international protocols and guidelines.
• Since its inception, the centre has handled nearly 5500 animal cases, with nearly 62 percent of them being released back into the wild.

Whale Shark Conservation Project

• Its Whale Shark Conservation Project was instrumental in saving whale sharks that were once brutally hunted off the coast of Gujarat, India.
• To prevent this slaughter, the species (Rhincodon typus) was added to Schedule I of India's Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 in May 2001, giving it the country's highest level of protection.
• WTI advocated for the Whale Shark to be the first fish species protected under the Act.
• In 2004, it launched the widely acclaimed Whale Shark Campaign to raise awareness about the plight of the species and its protected status among Gujarat's coastal communities.
• The campaign assisted in converting fishermen into fish protectors and changing local people's perceptions and attitudes, thereby assisting in long-term conservation in India.

Key Projects of Wildlife Trust of India

Gandak Gharial Recovery Project

• The Gandak Gharial Recovery Project of the Wildlife Trust of India aims to increase the population and occupancy of the critically endangered Gharial in its range.
• The critically endangered Indian Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
• Its range has shrunk significantly, and it is now limited to a few scattered locations in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Since 1946, the species' population has declined by 94%.
• According to the most recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Assessment, a global meta-population of 650 adults (median) with a range of 300-900 individuals exists in 14 sub-populations in India and Nepal, with breeding taking place in only six of them.
• The National Chambal Sanctuary on the River Chambal, which is shared by three states (Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan), is home to 77% of the world's population.

Kashmir Markhor Recovery Project

• The Kashmir Markhor Recovery Project of the Wildlife Trust of India aims to improve the population status of the once-thought-extinct Pirpanjal Markhor (Capra falconeri) in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The team intends to achieve the goal by carrying out targeted activities in the landscape, such as exploring new and protecting critical markhor habitats, as well as assessing the effects of anthropogenic pressure and livestock grazing on markhor and its habitat.
• The project is related to the organization's overarching goal of species recovery.
• The Markhor is the world's largest wild goat. The subspecies is only found in India's Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
• The species is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
• In 2004, WTI, in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Protection, J&K, and the Environment and Ecology cell of the Indian Army, conducted extensive surveys within the markhor's historical distribution range, establishing a scientific baseline that replaced previous guess estimates.

Protecting Tigers, People and their Vital Habitats in Sunderban

• The Sundarbans Delta is located in the Indian state of West Bengal and extends into Southwest Bangladesh.
• It is a vast landscape of numerous islands surrounded by a network of rivulets, streams, and estuaries that branch off the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers.
• The Sundarbans is the world's only mangrove forest with a tiger in its indigenous faunal assemblage, where it coexists with 46 other mammals and numerous other animal and plant species.
• The Sundarbans are a UNESCO World Heritage site due to their impressive diversity of tree and animal species. In addition, it is a Biosphere Reserve, a Tiger Conservation Reserve, and a Ramsar site.
• The Sundarbans delta is a Level I Tiger Conservation Unit and one of the largest available tiger habitats in the subcontinent.
• 60% of the Sundarbans' vast landmass is on the Bangladeshi side, while 40% is on the Indian side.
• Despite being one of the most important habitats for tigers, the density on both the Indian and Bangladesh sides is relatively low, with the Indian side having 62-96 tigers and the Bangladesh side having 84-130 tigers.
• In the Sundarbans delta, both countries face similar problems with poaching of tigers and their prey.
• Human-tiger conflicts are also common in the Sundarbans, owing primarily to humans invading tiger domains for reasons such as forest resource extraction.

Wildlife Trust of India - Big Ideas

• Our Depth Projects use a multi-pronged approach to address multiple conservation challenges specific to an area, and they embody more than one of our nine Big Ideas.
• Our Breadth Projects address specific conservation issues that may not be time or space limited in the country, such as training frontline forest staff and preventing wild animal deaths due to train collisions.

1) Wild Aid - To provide at least 750 short-term, focused, and innovative aid during times of emergency and conservation issues, in order to prevent problems and provide game-changing solutions to age-old problems.

2) Wild Rescue - To improve the welfare of individual displaced animals while also enhancing conservation and pioneering science-based rehabilitation and wildlife health across India, with the goal of saving at least 40,000 lives over the next decade.

3) Species Recovery - To recover at least six threatened species' populations/subpopulations by improving their recovery states (categories) and demonstrating recovery through improved recovery scores.

4) Protected Area Recovery - Enhance the functionality of six selected Protected Areas (PAs).

5) Conflict Mitigation - Demonstrate six innovative and replicable large-scale models for reducing Human-Wildlife Conflict.

6) Enforcement & Law - Combating key wildlife crime and reducing poaching or trade in at least six taxa or geographies.

7) Wild Lands - Outside of the traditional PA system, 200,000 hectares of critical habitats must be protected, including habitat linkages, wetlands, grasslands, community reserves, Important Bird Areas, and sacred groves.

8) Natural Heritage Campaigns - With at least six planned campaigns, we hope to effect a positive and measurable shift in people's perceptions of wildlife conservation and welfare in India.

9) Right of Passage - Right of passage for two umbrella species has been secured in 50% of their landscape.

Conclusion

The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) works in 23 Indian states to preserve natural environments and wildlife. Its mission is to serve nature and protect India's natural heritage by collaborating with government agencies and the community to implement a variety of programmes such as providing aid and rescuing wild animals from danger, recovering threatened species of wildlife and protected areas, reducing human-wildlife conflicts, assisting in the enforcement of laws and regulations, and conducting awareness campaigns emphasising India's natural heritage.

FAQs

MCQs

1. What is the primary focus of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI)?

A) Industrial development
B) Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
C) Promoting tourism
D) Commercial agriculture

2. How does WTI contribute to reducing human-wildlife conflict?

A) By providing educational programs
B) By promoting eco-tourism
C) By installing electric fences and offering alternative livelihoods
D) By conducting large-scale hunts

3. What is one of the key goals of WTI in terms of community involvement?

A) To increase industrial development
B) To promote wildlife hunting
C) To engage communities in sustainable wildlife management
D) To build zoos for wildlife

4. What type of support does WTI provide for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation?

A) Monetary aid
B) Temporary shelters
C) Rescue operations and rehabilitation centers
D) Releasing animals into the wild without care

5. How does WTI support wildlife protection laws in India?

A) By providing funds for forest management
B) By advocating for stronger wildlife protection laws and enforcement
C) By focusing on international conservation only
D) By promoting illegal hunting restrictions

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Discuss the role of NGOs like the Wildlife Trust of India in the conservation of endangered species. How do they complement government efforts in biodiversity conservation?

Answer: NGOs like the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) play a vital role in the conservation of endangered species by complementing government efforts through specialized programs and on-the-ground initiatives. While the government implements national-level policies, NGOs bring flexibility and innovation in addressing local challenges. WTI’s programs, such as wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, human-wildlife conflict reduction, and community involvement in conservation, fill critical gaps in government efforts. These organizations often work directly with local communities, raising awareness and promoting sustainable practices. Additionally, NGOs like WTI provide essential research, which informs better policy-making and the development of new conservation strategies. Their role in monitoring, advocacy, and building partnerships is crucial for achieving long-term biodiversity conservation goals.

Q2: Analyze the impact of human-wildlife conflict on biodiversity. What strategies can be adopted to mitigate this conflict?

Answer: Human-wildlife conflict poses a significant threat to biodiversity, especially in areas where human populations live in close proximity to wildlife habitats. Conflicts arise due to the encroachment of human settlements on wildlife territories, leading to the destruction of habitats and increased interactions between humans and animals. This often results in harm to both wildlife and humans, as animals may damage crops or pose threats to human life. Mitigating this conflict requires a multi-faceted approach, including the creation of wildlife corridors, the use of technologies like electric fences, and offering alternative livelihoods to communities. Engaging local communities in conservation efforts and educating them on the benefits of wildlife preservation is essential. Additionally, strengthening wildlife protection laws and increasing enforcement efforts can help reduce instances of illegal hunting and habitat destruction.

Q3: Evaluate the importance of community-based wildlife conservation programs. How do they help in achieving the goals of sustainable development?

Answer: Community-based wildlife conservation programs are essential for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) related to environmental conservation and poverty alleviation. These programs empower local communities to actively participate in conservation efforts, ensuring that wildlife protection is not only beneficial for the environment but also improves the socio-economic conditions of the community. By involving communities in eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture, and wildlife-friendly practices, these programs provide income opportunities and reduce dependency on harmful activities like poaching and illegal logging. Furthermore, they help in promoting awareness about the importance of biodiversity and environmental health. Community-based conservation programs also help to foster a sense of responsibility and ownership among locals, ensuring the long-term success of wildlife protection efforts.

Previous Year Questions on Wildlife Trust of India

1. UPSC CSE Prelims 2020:

Question: What is the focus of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI)?

A) Wildlife protection and biodiversity conservation
B) Industrial development
C) Promote livestock farming
D) Promote urban development

Answer: (A)

Explanation: The Wildlife Trust of India focuses on wildlife protection and biodiversity conservation through various innovative conservation programs aimed at preserving endangered species and their habitats.

2. UPSC CSE Mains 2018 (GS Paper 3):

Question: "What is the role of NGOs in wildlife conservation and how do they complement government efforts in the protection of endangered species?"

Answer: NGOs play an integral role in wildlife conservation by filling gaps left by government programs. They focus on grassroots-level activities such as wildlife rescue, community-based conservation, and advocacy. Their involvement helps enhance wildlife protection efforts, complementing governmental policies and actions through research, education, and localized interventions that address specific conservation issues. NGOs like WTI are crucial in mobilizing public support and promoting sustainable practices while strengthening the enforcement of wildlife laws and regulations.