Nature Conservation Foundation, GEF: Southern Western Ghats, India

Background

This project, funded by the GEF small grants program, utilized restoration and conservation efforts in order to improve the degraded rainforests of western Ghats, India. The project occurred over a four-year span from 2004 to 2008.

Goals & Approach

The goal of this project is to improve conservation strategies for tropical rainforests in western Ghats through ecological restoration involving community participation, scientific research and monitoring of plants regeneration and bird population recovery. The project largely focused on four pillars: increasing global awareness of the region, develop local capacity in local communities, ensure indigenous peoples participation, and influence policy.

Reported Takeaways

The project has reported signficant successes with plant regeneration, bird population recovery, restoration monitoring, creating conservation education programmes for local community, increasing restoration sites from 9 to 21 covering over 15 ha, and notable community participation.