COMMUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION
 The Communities for Conservation Programme is conceptualized as a social sciences skill unit of WTI.
Its goal is to build partnerships with local and traditional communities for effective biodiversity conservation.
Aims:
- To address livelihood needs of communities; those perceived as a direct threat to wildlife and also to ensure that the alternatives are in consonance with their needs and culture.
- To reduce the dependence of local communities on the forests and natural resources in cases where there is clear evidence that their dependence is damaging to conservation.
- To work in partnership with communities living close to rich biodiversity resources to ensure better protection of forests and wildlife.
It is envisioned to meet these goals and aims through the following three thematic divisions:
A. Alternate Livelihoods (AL)
This division seeks to address livelihood needs of communities those are a direct threat to wildlife and to ensure that the alternatives are in consonance with their needs and culture.
Aims:
 To identify communities dependent on wildlife resources or livelihood and prioritize intervention.
- To train community based organizations in alternative livelihoods strategies and to organize them collectively to ensure continuity in the alternate livelihoods.
- To lobby with the government and policy makers to ensure access of such communities to government schemes through loans and micro-credit.
- To monitor closely of such alternate livelihood programmes through long-term projects and associations.
B. Eco-development (ED)
This division seeks to reduce the dependence of local communities on the forets and natural resources in cases where there is clear evidence that the dependence is damaging to conservation.
Aims:
- To implement specific projects and interventions such as promotion of alternative use of energy through distribution of LPG or biogas or encourage community woodlots to reduce pressure on the forests.
- To plan land use and developmental models that reduces man-animal conflict and habitat degradation.
- To consider and assist in the implementation of relocation of communities outside critical wildlife habitat if their lifestyles are incompatible to conservation of wildlife and forets or if they have a need to leave such habitats for other reasons.
C. Community Based Conservation (CBC)
This division seeks to work in partnerships with communities living close to rich biodiversity resources to ensure better protection of forests and wildlife.
Aims:
- To work with communities living close to protected areas and build or support institutions that involves them in conservation.
- To document sites those are ‘community conserved areas’ and to offset any threats to such areas through lobbying and influencing policy makers.
- To implement eco-development projects which ensure that the communities have a stake in protecting the habitat or species concerned.
Current Projects:
A. Conserving Tibetan Antelope: People’s initiative for a sustainable alternative to “Shahtoosh” in the Kashmir Valley”
The purpose of this project is to reduce the dependence of traditional communities in the Kashmir valley on Shahtoosh wool procured from the endangered Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodsonii), by facilitating the provision of an exclusive, high quality handcrafted alternative woolen product called Kashmina. In the long run, the project could be used as model to demonstrate the ways of addressing livelihood needs in favour of conservation as against alienating communities dependant on these resources.
Achievements:
- Establishment & registration of the Kashmir Handmade Pashmina Promotion Trust, which has been able to bring together the traditional artistry of Shahtoosh & Pashmina workers to work towards the promotion of Kashmir Handmade Pashmina and establishing it as an exclusive brand.
- KHPPT has formally applied for Craftmark registration, a handmade process certification mark for Indian handloom products, for Kashmir Handmade Pashmina
- Completed a commercial feasibility study on the high quality Kashmina products and produced a detailed process and craft document.
- WTI has been spreading awareness about need to conserve Tibetan Antelope or Chiru and significance of promoting alternative wool Kashmina. Recently KHPPT produced handicraft products were exhibited in the Handicrafts Fair in Delhi Haat, New Delhi.
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