Projects in India
The Nature Conservancy is working to protect India’s habitats, biodiversity and natural resources for people and nature.
With 8% of the earth's biodiversity, India is home to diverse natural landscapes and unique wildlife. India is one of the 17 mega-biodiverse countries on Earth. With close to 2% of the planet’s land area and 4% of its freshwater, India is home to approximately 8% of Earth’s recorded species, including 96,000 animal species and 47,000 plants.
India, despite its vast human population, ranks among the world’s top ten most forested nations. It is home to more than half of the planet’s remaining wild tigers and iconic species such as Asian elephants, snow leopards, red pandas, Himalayan brown bears, Indian rhinoceroses and Asiatic lions. From the towering Himalayas to its extensive coastline, and from the arid deserts to the lush Northeast, India’s diverse landscapes support an extraordinary range of ecosystems. Its forests, wetlands and coastal habitats shelter unique species found in India. These ecosystems also serve as natural shields, mitigating the impacts of cyclones, floods and other extreme events.
Our rich biodiversity is not immune to the impacts of growth and climate change. India faces numerous threats, primarily from human activities, including habitat loss, the invasion of non-native species, soil erosion, resource degradation, deforestation and environmental pollution, alongside the impacts of climate change. There is an urgent need for evidence-based interventions to protect India’s natural habitats, biodiversity and natural resources, as well as to preserve its heritage and traditional conservation practices while ensuring the well-being of its people and ecosystems across diverse communities.
Ongoing Projects
Closely aligned to our global conservation priorities, our work in India focuses on four main areas.
Catalyst for Landscape Restoration
The Return of Elephants as a Catalyst for Landscape Restoration
In Central India, across 375,000-hectare forested landscape spanning the Bandhavgarh and Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserves, an extraordinary ecological story is unfolding—the return of wild elephants to a region from which they had disappeared more than a century ago. This project is set in the background of this rare natural history event.
Historical records indicate that elephants roamed the forests of Central India as late as the 19th century. However, extensive capture of wild elephants led to their local extinction across much of this region by early 20th century. For over a hundred years, these forests remained without one of their most influential ecological engineers.
A decade ago, this began to change. Driven by a combination of ecological and human-induced pressures in the neighbouring states, elephants gradually started returning to the forests of Madhya Pradesh. What began as exploratory movements during 2007-08 eventually led to a herd of seven elephants establishing a permanent presence in Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve in 2017. Since then, this extraordinary ecological story has continued to evolve, with the Bandhavgarh-Sanjay Dubri landscape now supporting a resident elephant population of ~97 individuals. In addition, several transient individuals continue to visit the state, reinforcing Madhya Pradesh's emerging role as an important elephant habitat in central India.
This remarkable story presents a unique conservation opportunity.
Promise and Challenge
As a flagship species, elephants help draw attention, resources and investments towards large-scale habitat restoration and landscape conservation initiatives. Their presence will help strengthen ecosystem health, enhance biodiversity, improve habitat connectivity and contribute to long-term community resilience.
Yet, their return brings significant challenges. Having been absent for more than a century, local communities have little or no living memory of co-existing with these gentle giants. As elephants re-establish themselves in the landscape, interactions between people and elephants increase. Thus, the need to address on conflict mitigation and community engagement in this conservation journey of coexistence.
Our Approach
With the foundational research work initiated in 2022, this project was co-designed in partnership with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.
In the Bandhavgarh–Sanjay Dubri landscape, this project explores the return of this charismatic megafauna as a powerful catalyst for restoring landscapes and securing a more sustainable future for both nature and people.
We are working with forest managers and local communities to build a future where people and elephants can co-exist, while ensuring long-term gains to conservation and biodiversity, through:
Science‑based and proven conflict management strategies, such as demonstration of Inno-fence, trip alarms, flicker lights, chilli-based olfactory deterrents and other low-cost conflict mitigation measures.
Collaboration with Forest Department, such as capacity building of frontline staff, equipping forest guards with protective gear, and sharing spatial data on corridors and conflict hotspots.
Community partnerships, such as strengthening of Elephant Response Teams (including capacity building and provision of protective gear).
Restoring habitats, such as removal of invasive lantana and piloting conservation-aligned livelihood models.
By 2030, this initiative aims to improve management of 300,000 hectares of land, securing a sustainable future where elephants, biodiversity and communities thrive together.
Acknowledgements
In this conservation journey, we acknowledge our partners, Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and Madhya Pradesh Tiger Foundation Society, for their strategic guidance and support to the project.
We are grateful to General Atlantic Private Limited, KFin Technologies Limited, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and The Habitats Trust for the generous financial support extended to this work.
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Strengthen Communities in NER India
Strengthen Community-based Conservation in North-east India
The North‑east region (NER) of India is one of the country’s greatest ecological treasures—home to intact old‑growth forests, rich biodiversity and the largest carbon store in India. Though it covers only 8% of India’s land, it holds approximately 24% of the country’s forest cover and approximately 28% of its carbon stocks.
Lying at the confluence of two of India’s four biodiversity hotspots—the Indo-Burma region and the Himalayas—the NER supports exceptional biological and cultural diversity. It is home to more than 200 distinct Indigenous communities, primarily the tribal population, that rely heavily on these forests.
Yet, this lifeline is under threat. Between 2019 and 2023, the NER lost more than 132,000 hectares of forest cover. Agricultural expansion, tree felling, natural calamities and development pressures are driving forest cover loss and declining biodiversity, adversely affecting human well-being and essential ecosystem services that people rely on.
Promise and Challenge
Barring two states, the communities in NER hold significant decision-making powers over their lands and waters. In response to deforestation, they often voluntarily protect and restore the biodiversity-rich ecosystems through actions such as establishing Community Conserved Areas and fish sanctuaries, and managing shifting cultivation fallows. Securing ecosystem services is rooted in cultural values associated with species and habitats. Such community stewardship represents admirable conservation sentiment at the grassroots level.
Being representative of the conservation challenges and opportunities from the NER, the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland offer a rare chance to demonstrate community‑based conservation. With more than 80% of forests in the two states being under the direct control of communities rather than the state forest departments, such community-based conservation actions are crucial. However, these initiatives are faced with challenges of sound science, financing and policy linkage. With the right support, these grassroots efforts can be scaled into models of community-led conservation mitigating biodiversity and forest loss, fostering sustainable development.
Our Approach
With the foundational work initiated 2022, this project is being co-developed in partnership with the State Biodiversity Boards of the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland.
We are supporting local communities to strengthen and scale these initiatives through sound science, sustainable finance and integration with government programmes.
We are working with the government agencies and local communities to build a future where people and nature can thrive, through:
Fostering inter-generational learning, through documentation of biodiversity (in the form of People’s Biodiversity Registers).
Strengthening community stewardship and leadership through prioritisation of conservation actions and their implementation, as well as building capacities of community institutions and leaders.
Supporting conservation-aligned livelihood models such as integrating wild edibles in school mid-day meals and indigenous cafes, and through community-led ecotourism.
Mobilising science, policy and finance to scale this crucial conservation work.
By 2030, this project in the north-east India is aiming to improve management of 500,000 ha of land; improving the ability of 360,000 people to participate in decision-making about their lands, waters and resources; and improving the security of rights of 125,000 people over their lands, waters and resources.
Recognition
Our work has been globally and nationally recognised via:
Selection as a laureate for FAO’s Farmer Field Schools Innovation Award 2025
Appreciation from the Meghalaya Biodiversity Board for biodiversity documentation that secures community rights
Acknowledgements
In this conservation journey, we acknowledge our partners, Meghalaya Biodiversity Board and Nagaland State Biodiversity Board, for their strategic guidance and support to the project.
We are grateful to Karvansarai Investments Private Limited, and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, for the generous financial support extended to this work.
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Regenerative Agriculture (PRANA)
Promoting regenerative and no-burn agriculture
Context
The Indo-Gangetic Plains are among the most fertile farmlands in the world, and they help feed around 40 percent of India’s population. Punjab sits at the heart of this food bowl, growing much of the rice and wheat that has made India the world’s largest rice producer. But decades of intensive paddy-wheat farming have come at a cost. Groundwater is falling so fast that Punjab’s reserves could run dry by 2039. Soils are losing organic matter, and crop residue burning, though sharply reduced, still affects air quality every autumn. India’s food future now depends on farming that restores the land it relies on.
Promoting Regenerative and No-burn Agriculture (PRANA)
Launched in 2021, PRANA works across nearly 6,200 villages with 650,000 farmers in Punjab with farmers, service providers, researchers and government institutions to end crop residue burning and advance regenerative farming. It combines behavioural change interventions, farmer training and science to help farmers adopt regenerative, no-burn practices that improve soil health, reduce air pollution and build climate resilience. Alongside its work in the field, PRANA partners with policymakers and government institutions to integrate these lessons into policy, helping build a more sustainable and inclusive food system for the future.
By 2030, PRANA aims that farmers in Northwest India foodscape are adopting water efficient and low carbon rice growing practices, and simultaneously converting to alternate non-rice crops, enhancing agriculture productivity while conserving the environment, reducing climate change risks and improving economic well-being. The program’s key goals include avoiding 7 million tons of CO2eq emissions from agriculture and benefiting 2 million people from climate-resilient practices and 200,000 people from sustainable place-based economic opportunity.
Key Interventions
Low-emission, water-efficient rice management
Flooded paddy fields are one of agriculture’s largest sources of methane, and rice needs 3,000 to 5,000 litres of water for every kilogram produced. PRANA trains farmers in two proven alternatives:
- Direct Seeding of Rice sows seed straight into the field, skipping the nursery and the water-heavy puddling stage.
- Alternate Wetting and Drying lets fields dry out between irrigations instead of keeping them flooded all season.
Both cut groundwater use and methane emissions without compromising yields, and PRANA pairs them with in-situ residue management and other low-carbon agronomic practices.
Crop diversification and value chains
The paddy-wheat cycle persists because its markets are assured, and adoption of alternative crops also depends on secure market linkages. PRANA helps farmers shift to less water-intensive, low-carbon options such as poplar, pear and cotton. Alongside this, it works with the private sector to build markets and sustainable sourcing clusters as well as supports farmers in forming farmer-producer organisations that give them stronger bargaining power.
Water management in the water-energy-food nexus
In Punjab, water, energy and food are tightly linked. Free or subsidised electricity for farm pumps removes any cost to over-extraction, and agriculture is now the state’s largest consumer of groundwater. With the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and the Punjab Development Commission (PDC), PRANA has introduced a policy pilot linking solarised agricultural pumps to smart grids. Farmers can sell surplus power back to the grid, which turns saving water into a source of income.
Crop residue management
Decades of monocropping and residue burning have depleted soil organic matter in Punjab and deepened reliance on chemical fertilisers. PRANA tackles this in two ways.
- In-situ management: PRANA demonstrates machinery such as Happy Seeders, Super Seeders, Smart Seeders and Surface Seeders that return paddy residue to the soil. Because limited access to machines often makes burning the quickest option in narrow sowing windows, PRANA’s AgResults, or Pay-for-Results model helps machinery service providers build viable rental businesses. The Pay-for-Results model is an incentive-based model that rewards agricultural machinery service providers for helping farmers adopt sustainable, regenerative agricultural practices, rather than relying solely on awareness campaigns, equipment subsidies or conventional extension services. Thus, the income of such service providers is tied to farmers adopting no-burn practices and Direct Seeded Rice, turning operators into local agents of change.
- Ex-situ management through biochar: To address crop residue burning and declining soil health, PRANA has initiated a Biochar pilot project in Punjab. Biochar, produced from sustainably sourced rice residue, is applied to soil to enhance water retention, nutrient availability and overall crop productivity. The pilot aims to demonstrate biochar as a viable solution for managing agricultural residue while improving soil health.
Progress and Impact
Across Punjab, 370,802 farmers have adopted no-burn practices on 847,776 hectares. This shift has avoided more than 3.8 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually and saved an estimated 478 billion litres of water.
Looking Ahead
The next phase will deepen adoption of water-efficient rice cultivation, strengthen residue management service ecosystems and expand crop diversification. PRANA also aims to support policy-backed expansion into Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Northeast India. Aligned with TNC’s global Foodscapes strategy, this work depends on continued collaboration among farmers, researchers, governments and private-sector partners to build the markets, finance and policy that let regenerative agriculture grow, safeguarding India’s food security while restoring the land for generations to come.
Read More
- Video: Regenerative Agriculture in India (8:58)
- Article: Regenerative Foodscapes for a Climate-Resilient India
- Op-Ed: Punjab didn’t end stubble burning with bans. Gurudwaras played a role too
- Op-Ed: Why partnerships will define India’s agricultural transition - The Economic Times
- Op-Ed: Regenerative agriculture: India’s climate-resilient path | Hindustan Times
Clean Energy Transition
Accelerating a clean, green and equitable energy future in India
Context and Urgency
Clean energy is central to India’s long-term development agenda and its transition toward a more resilient, inclusive economy. Within the Government of India’s Nationally Determined Contributions for Sustainable Development Goals 2030—renewable energy (RE) plays a defining role in tackling climate change, reducing emission intensity, advancing economic growth, community well-being and environmental stewardship. In this context, India now ranks third globally in total RE installed capacity. To support its sustainable development ambition, India aims to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.
The country aims to deploy ~50 GW of new RE capacity annually over the next five years to reach its goal, which in turn will require effective resource and land use planning at unprecedented speed and scale. However, utility-scale solar and wind energy infrastructure have large land footprints, and poorly planned siting can trigger land conflicts, project delays and increased environmental and social risks that undermine communities, nature and investor confidence.
Integrating low-risk, environmentally and socially responsible siting practices in upcoming projects is both urgent and essential to ensure that India’s clean energy transition is not only rapid but also equitable, resilient and sustainable. TNC’s key energy program priorities in India, Mining the Sun and SiteRight, address this need, using science-based strategies to accelerate clean energy development while safeguarding nature and communities.
Mining the Sun (MTS)
TNC’s MTS initiative focuses on repurposing degraded mine lands to deliver clean energy while minimizing impacts on communities and high-value ecosystems. This work has the potential to transform a legacy liability into a long-term asset—creating jobs, revitalizing local economies and supporting an energy transition that is fast, inclusive and equitable. With the right policy guidance, data and capacity building support, former coal regions can become engines of India’s clean energy future. Through MTS, TNC is increasing awareness among local governments and coal entities, supporting the development of a centralized, online accessible database/map of coal mine lands with solar energy potential to enable strategic, long‑term planning and providing technical assistance.
Between 2023 and 2024, TNC conducted technical feasibility studies at coal mines under an agreement with NLC India Limited (NLCIL), a public sector coal company under the Ministry of Coal, that informed the development of a 50‑MW solar energy project developed on a reclaimed coal mine land in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu—the first project of its kind in the country. Over its lifetime, the project will avoid an estimated 1.17 million metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
By 2030, India could have nearly 547 square kilometres of land abandoned and closed coal mines that could support up to 27 GW of solar capacity development. TNC will unlock this opportunity by developing a national roadmap for the solarization of closed and reclaimed coal mines in India, through a study jointly conducted under an agreement with National Institute of Solar Energy (under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India).
Smart Siting
TNC developed SiteRight to help policymakers, developers and other renewable energy domain stakeholders in India to make informed siting choices for solar and wind energy projects. This web-based tool identifies areas where RE projects are less likely to face socio-ecological conflicts, helping to reduce and minimize negative impacts. SiteRight is currently operational in nine states: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Specifically, TNC helped to integrate SiteRight into TiNAI, a state-led Land Use Information System (LUIS) and geospatial tool developed by Tamil Nadu’s State Planning Commission.
The SiteRight tool is now being expanded to other states and enhanced with additional datasets such as transmission infrastructure to make it more useful to the RE industry.
By continuing to work collaboratively with government and industry partners, TNC aims to drive a renewable energy transformation in India that delivers long-term benefits for communities, combat climate change and ensure sustainable development.
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Regenerative Foodscapes for a Climate-Resilient India
How the PRANA initiative is empowering farmers in Punjab, India, to adopt sustainable agricultural practices that reduce air pollution, improve soil health and combat climate change.
SiteRight
The SiteRight tool helps in selecting locations for solar and wind projects that can help meet India’s renewable energy goals while avoiding adverse impacts to people and the environment.
Meet the India Advisory Council
The Nature Conservancy’s India Advisory Council consists of an impressive group of leaders lending their expertise to help solve the climate and biodiversity crises in India and across the world.
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