Rainmatter Foundation and #uttarayanwildlife proudly presents the 2nd year of Restoration of degraded elephant corridors in South Bengal.
Thanks to the team - community!
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Small baby steps to establish a forest… at South Bengal restoration project [Rainmatter Foundation](Rainmatter Foundation?
Our nursery is now a birthplace of more than 2 lakh sapling
taken care wholly by the community and mostly women. [#uttarayanwildlife](#uttarayanwildlife - एक्सप्लोर करा? ERA - Environmental Research Alliance is working closely with us on germination techniques!
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Wrapping off 2nd year of #uttarayanwildlife and Rainmatter Foundation 5 year long program to Revive and Regenerate degraded wildlife/elephant corridors of Bankura and Purulia in South Bengal - a quick snapshot:
27318 plants planted till date (2 years).
60% of it survived.
Elephant corridor as earmarked in the Right of Passage – WTI/MOEF report:
Bankura + Purulia - 178 km (2 years) - approx.
440 acres -5% of the corridor in patches has been covered (2 years)
Approx. 6 villages with an average population of 1000 together are directly and indirectly participating
1.75 lakh seed germination happening in our nursery
We are addressing UN SDG 1, 2, 5, 13, 15, 17
Great local impact with locals forming committees to safeguard ecosystem
Local schools are engaged
It feels overwhelming to be part of this difference! Cant thank enough the team!
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FORESTS AND LANDSCAPE RESTORATION OF DEGRADED FORESTS AND ELEPHANT CORRIDORS OF SOUTH - CENTRAL OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA TO ENHANCE BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Overall working goals!
In the past 2 years of the UW-RM project of elephant corridor restoration, a lot has evolved in terms of definitive goals and objectives other than the main goals of reforestation on the designated elephant corridor.
One of the main observation and local study shows, not much of the traditional route are frequently used by the Dalma (Jharkhand) elephant population but in Bankura – one of our plantation soft zones there are sporadic presence. The evident reason being the degraded fallow lands and not much of forest cover for fodder and water.
Presently we have advanced along the corridor in-between forest patches towards harder zone in Purulia – Ayodhya.
The highlighting points which have emerged in the past 2 years:
- An evolution of the goal towards seamless integration between UN COP and Paris agreement of environment – social – monetary approach. Moving from a top down (project team led) to bottoms up approach where the locals have formed committees and pledged to safeguard the effort to restore their environment with full knowledge of the benefits of better soil, reduced soil erosion, better biodiversity leading to revived water levels and climatic conditions and better economic turnaround with practice of Pomology and forest plants which have livelihood benefits.
- The model is now mostly community-based forest management where traditional people govern and manage resources. Our gradual plan is a transfer of ownership with proper exit plan for the project team which we do in phases.
- With the gradual ownership transfer arising out of behavioral change to lead the regeneration effort, locals are now part of the strategic planning. Environment related livelihood plans like vermicompost, bee, involving local educational institutions are their proposals.
- We have also modeled the project in such a way that it reduces gender gaps and includes landless farmers (marginalized communities) in this effort.
- Once this cycle of initiating positive attitudes among local Green and nature champions completes, we hope that they will carry the effort to regenerate their environment with minimum support to revive their economy too.
It’s a MOVEMENT FOR AN INCLUSIVE EFFORT TOWARDS ENHANCING BIODIVERSITY (INCLUDING MEGAFAUNA), CLIMATIC AND ECONOMIC CONDITION
@sameershisodia @NithinKamath @sidsrao
UTTARAYAN WILDLIFE: Success story - Community Participation - movement towards a better future - We at UW together with RM have taken up this journey of degraded land restoration on elephant corridors of South Bengal - Capacity Building of locals - VERMICOMPOST!
Vermicompost is important for several reasons. It’s a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer produced through the decomposition of organic material by earthworms. This process enhances soil structure, increases water retention, and promotes beneficial microbial activity, leading to improved plant growth. Additionally, vermicomposting helps recycle kitchen waste, reducing the environmental impact of organic waste disposal.
In-hand Vermicompost training at Purulia and Bankura.
@sameershisodia @sidsrao @Vikas
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VERMICOMPOST by Uttarayan Wildlife for natural compost rather than chemical fertiliser also a source of local livelihood.
Please also check the SOP developed by our experts!
Vermicompost SOP .pdf (3.2 MB)
The local farmer talk on the impact of the UW-RM plantation and regeneration program
An ideal Before and After scenario as observed by the locals.
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Rainmatter Foundation and #uttarayanwildlife presents livelihood efforts related to ecology.
Community start ups - the first of its kind introduced in Purulia, Bankura to yield organic manure through natural composting.
The yield is self used in their own fields and we as part of our Restoration plan buy for our project.
Congrats to the community team for a good compost yield.
More than 10 kg of primary yield from 5 different compost sites!
UW - RM Ecological Restoration has entered a new phase by involving local school children and empowering them to take the restoration effort ahead!
Our future ecologists will get nature education, nature walks, trained in ecology by our experts, will create their own patch of ecosystem and enjoy rearing them!
@sidsrao @sameershisodia
As part of the livelihood connected to ecology - Vermicompost which was started in 2 areas for local economy boost and ecology organic compost to be used locally, in last 4 months of primary compost and the present yield the locals have harvested 1.5 quintol in Ranibund village out of 2 composts and 4 in Gorshika.
1/4th is being used locally by the farmers and some of it the project will buy back as part of our rewilding effort.