The Habitats Trust Announces Grants For Organizations/Individuals Working Towards Securing India’s Biodiversity

24 Jun, 2022 18:07 IST|Sakshi Post

HYDERABAD:The Habitats Trust, a not-for-profit organization working towards the protection and conservation of India’snatural habitats and their indigenous species,is inviting applications to financially support organizations and individuals doing seminal work towards protecting and conserving India’sthreatened wildlife and natural habitats. The Habitats Trust Grants, with a total prize purse of Rs. 3.20 Crore (three crores and twenty lakhs), will be given in three categories with the aim of securing India’s rich biodiversity. The application portal for the Grants will remain open from June 23, 2022 to August 5, 2022 and forms can be filled online and accessed fromhttps://www.thehabitatstrust.org/

Rushikesh Chavan, Head of The Habitats Trust said, “The need to conserve biodiversity is pressing as India stares at an unprecedented crisis when it comes to mitigating the biggest challenges that humanity faces. According to a 2021 report by Centre for Science and Environment, our country has lost over 90% of the area under its four biodiversity hotspots and 25 species from these have already become extinct. The Habitats Trust Grants is an effort to mobilize and scale on-ground efforts by passionate conservationists to help secure and restore our rich biodiversity.”

“Our Grants categories will help ensure that we are able to support a diverse range and scale of projects. A significantly enhanced grant purse of Rs. 3.20 Crore (from Rs 1.26 Crore last year) with longer duration grants projects will enable our grantees to drive deeper and more sustained impact year-on-year. I am particularly excited about the Seeds Grant as it will allow us to nurture a young generation of conservationists while giving them the opportunity and freedom to work on experimental projects.”

Not-for-profit organizations working to conserve India’s biodiversity can apply for the Grants. The revised grant categories include:

•    THT Conservation Grant of Rs. 1 crore, each to two organizations
The Habitats Trust Conservation Grant will support organisations working towards the conservation of lesser-known species and critical habitats. It will assist the granteesinaddressingcritical conservation challenges of India including but not limited to habitat degradation and destruction, loss of biodiversity, conservation of endangered species, and solutions for human-wildlife conflict. This grant is only open to organizations that have a proven record of working in wildlife conservation for a minimum of five years. The selected projects will have to be executed over a three-year period.This is aimed at allowing sufficient time for the winners to make the most of the Grant and create a deeper impact on ground.

•    THT Action Grantof Rs. 25 lakhs, each for three organizations/ individuals
The Habitats Trust Action Grant will support three individuals ororganizations or both, working on-ground on lesser-known species and/or habitats that require urgent conservation intervention. The selected individuals or organizations should have been working in the field of wildlife conservation for a minimum of two years.The selected project will have to be executed over a period of two years.

New Evaluation Process

Applications for the Grants will be evaluated through a multi-level screening process by a panel of experts from the field of conservation including scientists and subject-matter experts. These experts, who are also the sub-jury, will screen and shortlist 30 applicants across the two categories and will further assess these shortlisted projects through a field evaluation round.20 applications overall will move to the final Jury Round. The five recipients of The Habitats Trust Grants 2022 will be announced by an eminent jury towards the end of this year. Applications will be measured on relevance, expected conservation impact, stakeholder engagement, scalability, replicability, and sustainability of the proposed project. 

This year, the organization has also introduced a new category –  THT Seed Grantis a year-round grant, which will support upto 15 applicants with Rs 3 lakhs, each. This Grant will financially support organizations or individuals working on small, limited duration projects or conservation research efforts that tackle issues related to lesser-known species/ habitats, or pilot projects in relatively unexplored landscapes or data deficient species. Applicants testing new methodologies and/or conducting rapid surveys will be eligible for this grant. While the grant application window for this category will also open on 23rd June, individuals and organizations can apply for this category throughout the year on the same portal. The selection for this grant will be done by subject matter experts within The Habitats Trust.

About The Habitats Trust
Founded in 2018 by Roshni Nadar Malhotra, the Chairperson of HCL Technologies and Trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, and Shikhar Malhotra, the Vice Chairman of HCL Healthcare and Trustee, Shiv Nadar Foundation, The Habitats Trust is working towards protecting natural habitats and their indigenous species of flora and fauna through strategic partnerships, sustainable on-ground efforts, engaging technology for conservation and generating conservation awareness. The Trust envisions a world where our natural habitats are secured for future generations, and humans live in harmony with the wildlife that shares our planet.

About The Habitats Trust Grants
India is a megadiverse country, with only 2.4% of the world's land area it accounts for 7% - 8% of all recorded species, including over 45,000 species of plants and over 91,000 species of animals. Four of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots: The Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the North-East, and the Nicobar Islands, are found in India. However, rampant habitat loss and fragmentation, increasing biotic pressures on forests, and poaching and the illegal trade in wildlife and its parts, pose a grave threat to India’s biodiversity. In 2018, the annual Grants programme was conceptualised to recognise, and support committed conservationists who have dedicated their lives to securing the country’s vibrant flora and fauna.

For more information, please contact:
Sadaf Khan
Head - Corporate Communications, HCL Corporation, Shiv Nadar Foundation and The Habitats Trust
+91 9620696668, Sadaf-k @ hcl.com

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