Nature Conservation Foundation Key Issues and
Operational Areas, Major Activiities & Achivements
Operational Districts: Bangalore, Mysore
Operational States: KARNATAKA
AchieveMents: The Nature Conservation Foundation, a non-profit organization headquartered in Mysore and with field stations in various parts of India, was founded in 1996 by a team of professionally trained and highly motivated young wildlife biologists. NCF promotes science-based and socially responsible wildlife conservation in India. Our goal is to contribute to knowledge and conservation of Indiaââ¬â¢s unique wildlife heritage with innovative research and imaginative solutions. Our work ranges from research and conservation efforts focused on endangered and charismatic species such as Asian elephants and snow leopards to lesser-known wildlife such as corals and bats, plants and threatened habitats. We also strive to understand human resource use and dependence on wild species and ecosystems and human-wildlife interactions ranging from conflicts to coexistence. Using this knowledge of wildlife ecology and human society, we are contributing to conservation using creative solutions across a diversity of Indiaââ¬â¢s landscapes ranging from coral reefs to the high mountains of the Himalaya. Our work is currently focused in the coral reefs in the Lakshadweep and Andaman Nicobar Islands, coastal areas of India, forests in the Western Ghats and Eastern Himalaya biological diversity hotspots, trans-Himalayan cold desert landscapes, and wetlands in northern India. We also carry out education and public engagement efforts involving school children, citizen scientists, communities and conservation partners in our field sites and across the country. Our site-based conservation programs are implemented in collaboration with rural communities that depend the most on natural resources and also with government departments and other stakeholders including private landowners involved in land use and resource management. Our inter-disciplinary approach has also resulted in partnerships with other organizations, academic institutions, and corporate organizations wherever needed.àOver the past few years, NCF has also attracted a growing community of young researchers that are involved in existing programs or new research directions. From a small beginning in 1996, NCF has grown to over 100 people engaged in vibrant programmes and projects across India. NCFs work has been frequently covered in the media and NCF and several of its scientists have received recognition and awards for their work both nationally and internationally in the scientific and conservation community.
