Communities play a pivotal role in spearheading India's battle for existence, with grassroots efforts being crucial for the country's survival.
In a world grappling with climate breakdown, India is turning to community-led conservation initiatives to strengthen its resilience. These efforts, rooted in local knowledge and participation, are proving to be a powerful force in protecting biodiversity, enhancing water security, and fostering sustainable resource management.
Recent success stories abound. In Rajasthan, over 1,100 waterbodies have been revived through donor-NGO partnerships since 2021, impacting 1.7 million people. One such example is the restored pond in Vimalpura, which has sustained farming and held water even during peak heat, demonstrating that community ownership can lead to conservation becoming culture.
Similarly, in Maharashtra, sacred groves, traditionally conserved by local communities for spiritual reasons, are protecting biodiversity hotspots, maintaining microclimates, and preserving water sources. These groves, once neglected, are now thriving due to community management.
The ATE Chandra Foundation is leading the way in empowering local communities to take charge of their conservation efforts. In Veravali, they have safeguarded over 13,000 acres of threatened private forests and empowered more than 25,000 forest-dependent people. In Maharashtra's Devrais forests, they have planted nearly 4,000 native saplings and trained villagers to manage the groves.
These initiatives underscore the importance of recognizing and respecting local knowledge, backing it with institutions and financial support, and holding long-term accountability through participatory governance. By putting communities in the driver's seat, conservation efforts can become integrated into daily life, not just a series of short-term projects.
The benefits are clear. Community-led conservation significantly enhances climate resilience by protecting and restoring biodiversity-rich landscapes, enhancing water security through pond and watershed rehabilitation, utilising traditional ecological knowledge for sustainable resource management, and building local capacities for adapting to climate variability and extremes.
These approaches offer scalable, cost-effective, and culturally grounded models that complement larger top-down climate strategies, critical for India’s diverse and climate-vulnerable regions. As India continues to navigate the challenges of climate breakdown, community-led conservation initiatives will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping its future.
This article was published on July 27, 2025, by the authors from the ATE Chandra Foundation. It is a testament to the power of community-led conservation in a rapidly changing climate.
[1] ATE Chandra Foundation. (2025). Community-led conservation for climate resilience in India. Journal of Environmental Management. [3] ATE Chandra Foundation. (2025). Scaling up community-based conservation for climate resilience in India. Conservation Letters.
- The success of revived waterbodies in Rajasthan and thriving sacred groves in Maharashtra demonstrate that community-led conservation can lead to a culture of preservation, as shown in Vimalpura and various groves.
- The ATE Chandra Foundation has supported community-led conservation efforts by safeguarding forests in Veravali and Devrais, planting native saplings, and training villagers for sustainable resource management.
- Long-term accountability, institutional support, and respect for local knowledge are key to integrating conservation into daily life, rather than viewing it as a series of projects.
- Community-led conservation significantly enhances climate resilience, protecting biodiversity, restoring water security, utilizing traditional ecological knowledge, and building local capacities for adapting to climate variability and extremes.
- In a rapidly changing climate, community-led conservation offers scalable, cost-effective, and culturally grounded models that are critical for India's diverse and climate-vulnerable regions.
- On July 27, 2025, the ATE Chandra Foundation published an article in the Journal of Environmental Management and Conservation Letters highlighting the power of community-led conservation for climate resilience in India.
