Guards of the Wilderness

It is no secret that luxury safari properties in India offer exceptional nature-driven experiences to their guests, but their ancillary conservation initiatives are worth talking about as well.

- RIAAN JACOB GEORGE

SOME OF INDIA’S UPSCALE safari properties are among the global leaders in the glamping and nature tourism segments. But a consensus has emerged among owners that their scope of responsibility goes beyond the walls of their individual properties. “As plush as a lodge might be, it cannot exist if the surrounding area is not up to the mark or is showing signs of deterioration,” says Shoba Mohan, founder of RARE India (rareindia.com), a curated consortium of boutique hotels.

REVERSING THE TREND

Admittedly, there have been cases of tokenism where PR activities and hollow CSR initiatives have been loosely translated into conservation efforts, but there are a few significant players in the market for whom conservation runs in the blood. The team at Jehan Numa Wilderness (jehannuma.com), for instance, has worked for the reintroduction of the critically endangered barasingha (swamp deer) from Kanha National Park (kanha-national-park.com) to Satpura National Park (satpura-nationalpark.com). This project was funded by Madhya Pradesh Tiger Foundation Society (mptiger.mponline.gov.in), and included initiatives such as providing clean drinking water to forest guards and ensuring food supply during the recent lockdown.

On the same lines, Taj Safaris (taj hotels.com) conducted a gaur relocation programme under the aegis of the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. After a fiveyear-long effort, the extinction of gaurs, the largest herbivore species in the country, was reversed in Bandhavgarh National Park (bandhavgarh-national-park.com). As many as 44 animals were relocated from Kanha to Bandhavgarh in 2010-11, and their current numbers are promising.