Wildlife Conservation Trust

Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) is an Indian not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Mumbai and focused on practical, science-led conservation. Registered in 2002, the organisation works in and around approximately 160 protected areas across 23 Indian states. Its model combines field implementation, conservation research, technical assistance, institutional strengthening and community-oriented programmes rather than concentrating on a single species or reserve. During its first seven years, WCT operated primarily as a family trust that provided donations to tiger reserves and other protected areas to improve protection capacity. In September 2009, it established an operational office and began hiring subject-matter specialists to manage on-ground projects. This transition broadened its role from grant-making to direct conservation delivery, research and technical support. WCT works with forest departments and other government bodies, corporations, communities and local non-governmental organisations. Its activities include wildlife monitoring, landscape and genetic research, human-wildlife interface management, road ecology, conservation education, livelihood support, wildlife-law enforcement and forensic capacity building, and healthcare for frontline forest personnel. The organisation also undertakes policy and knowledge work intended to improve conservation decisions beyond individual project sites. Its research programmes have included tiger monitoring outside protected areas, camera trapping, landscape connectivity, genetics, Eurasian otter ecology, Indian pangolin ecology, hydrology and studies of large-carnivore distribution in central India and the Western Ghats. These activities support the case for protecting wildlife corridors and forest patches outside formally protected areas, which are important for maintaining populations and ecological connectivity. WCT’s Conservation Behaviour division examines the relationship between people and ecosystems through economics, psychology and sociology. The division evaluates conservation policies and community practices and develops evidence-based interventions. The organisation has also partnered with Google Research India through an artificial-intelligence research programme aimed at predicting human-wildlife conflict in Maharashtra. Other specialist initiatives include the Conservation Dogs Unit, which uses trained dogs to support species and evidence detection, wildlife-law enforcement, disease surveillance, research and human-wildlife conflict work. The Health division operates Caring for Conservators and Trauma Management Training initiatives for forest staff who often work in remote areas with limited access to clinical services. Through the Riverine Ecosystems and Livelihoods Programme and Programme Makara, WCT studies Ganges river dolphins, gharials, river turtles and the effects of fisheries and other human activities on freshwater ecosystems. A prominent recent initiative is Heater of Hope, which develops and distributes energy-efficient biomass-fuelled water heaters to households in a tiger corridor in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district. The project is intended to reduce firewood consumption and forest degradation while lowering smoke exposure, easing household labour and reducing human-wildlife conflict. WCT received the UNDP Mahatma Award for Biodiversity in 2023 for this work. In 2025, it was identified as a Satellites For Biodiversity Award winner for work protecting nesting habitats of endangered crocodilians and river turtles in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. WCT’s leadership and governance include founder, chairman and trustee Hemendra Kothari and president Dr. Anish Andheria. Its trustees have included Hemendra Kothari, Bittu Sahgal, Aditi Kothari Desai and Shuchi Kothari. The organisation has also held or participated in advisory, statutory and sectoral positions connected with tiger conservation, wildlife boards, lion conservation, climate collaboration, coastal-zone management and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Wildlife Conservation Trust was registered in India in 2002. It was established under the leadership of Hemendra Kothari, who serves as its founder, chairman and trustee. For its first seven years, the trust functioned mainly as a family philanthropy vehicle, donating resources to tiger reserves and other protected areas to improve protection and management. A significant organisational change occurred in September 2009, when WCT established an office and recruited subject-matter experts for direct project implementation. The organisation consequently developed from a donor supporting protected areas into a multi-disciplinary conservation institution with field teams, research programmes and technical capabilities. Its work expanded to include conservation science, forest-department capacity building, community engagement and responses to the social and infrastructural pressures affecting wildlife habitats. WCT’s research has concentrated in part on central India and the Western Ghats. Its teams have used camera trapping and other methods to monitor tigers inside and outside protected areas, assess lesser-known species and study landscape connectivity. Genetic and landscape-ecology findings have supported the importance of corridors and forest remnants beyond protected-area boundaries. Other research areas have included Eurasian otters, Indian pangolins, hydrology and the distribution and occupancy of large carnivores. The organisation also developed a Conservation Behaviour division to examine how people living near forests interact with natural ecosystems. Drawing on economics, psychology and sociology, the division assesses policies and existing interventions and develops recommendations for community and public-policy action. A related strand of work has used artificial intelligence to explore prediction of human-wildlife conflict in Maharashtra in partnership with Google Research India. WCT broadened its operational portfolio through road-ecology work, studying the effects of roads and other linear infrastructure on wildlife and advocating mitigation measures. Its Conservation Dogs Unit uses specially trained dogs and handlers to support wildlife research, detection of species or poaching evidence, disease surveillance, law enforcement and human-wildlife-interface programmes. The unit has assisted forest departments in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh when requested. Frontline forest staff became another important focus. WCT’s Health division created Caring for Conservators and Trauma Management Training to address the difficulties faced by personnel working in remote protected areas. It has worked with state health departments on ways to improve primary healthcare access for these staff. In freshwater conservation, the Riverine Ecosystems and Livelihoods Programme and Programme Makara have supported long-term research on Ganges river dolphins, gharials and river turtles, while examining capture fisheries and other human pressures in the Gangetic Plains and central India. These projects involve forest departments, communities, government agencies, NGOs and other local partners. WCT has participated in national and state-level conservation institutions, including the Global Tiger Forum advisory board, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, state boards of wildlife and conservation committees concerned with lions, tigers, coastal management and climate collaboration. It is also a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its Heater of Hope initiative received the UNDP Mahatma Award for Biodiversity in 2023, and its freshwater and crocodilian habitat work was recognised among the 2025 Satellites For Biodiversity Award winners.

• 2025

  Satellites For Biodiversity Award recognition

  [2]Wildlife Conservation Trust official websitewildlifeconservationtrust.org

  WCT was listed among the award winners for work protecting nesting habitats of endangered crocodilians and river turtles in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

• 2023

  UNDP Mahatma Award for Biodiversity

  [2]Wildlife Conservation Trust official websitewildlifeconservationtrust.org

  WCT received the award for its Heater of Hope project in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur tiger corridor.

• 2009

  Transition to an operational conservation organisation

  [1]Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  WCT established an office and hired subject-matter experts to run on-ground conservation projects after several years focused mainly on donations.

• 2002

  Trust registered in India

  [1]Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org

  Wildlife Conservation Trust was registered as an Indian not-for-profit organisation.

A field-oriented Indian conservation organisation that combines scientific research, government partnership, community engagement and practical capacity building across terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.

• Heater of Hope

  India · Maharashtra

  A conservation and livelihood initiative that develops and distributes energy-efficient biomass-fuelled water heaters to households in a tiger corridor in Chandrapur district. The programme seeks to reduce firewood dependence, forest degradation, smoke exposure and household labour while supporting coexistence between communities and wildlife.

  Outcome. The project received the UNDP Mahatma Award for Biodiversity in 2023.

  Source
• Caring for Conservators

  India

  A healthcare programme designed to improve access to expert clinical care for frontline forest personnel working in remote protected areas.

  Source
• Riverine Ecosystems and Livelihoods Programme

  India · Gangetic Plains

  A long-term freshwater programme studying river ecology, Ganges river dolphins, gharials and the effects of fisheries and other human activities while working with riverine communities and public agencies.

  Source
• Programme Makara

  India · Gangetic Plains · Central India

  A freshwater conservation initiative connected with research on endangered crocodilians, river turtles and the ecological pressures affecting river systems.

  Outcome. The organisation’s related work on crocodilian and river-turtle nesting habitats was recognised in the 2025 Satellites For Biodiversity Awards.

  Source

• 2009

  Move from grant-making toward direct field operationsStrategy

  Background

  For its first seven years, WCT mainly operated as a family trust that donated to tiger reserves and other protected areas.

  Action taken

  The trust opened an office and hired subject-matter experts to design and manage on-ground conservation projects.

  Aftermath

  WCT developed a broader operational portfolio covering research, government capacity building, community programmes, health, road ecology and wildlife-law enforcement.

  Source

1. 1Wildlife Conservation Trusten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Wildlife Conservation Trust official websitewildlifeconservationtrust.org