The goal of this project is to conserve elephants and their habitats, promotion of human-elephant coexistence, and safeguarding well-being in northeast india

This $471,220 project grant awarded by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service under the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.621) aims to conserve elephant populations and their habitats in Northeast India. The key products and services to be delivered include:

1. Conducting research to understand elephant ecology, such as genetic connectivity, movement patterns, physiological stress, and feeding habits.
2. Restoring 200 hectares of degraded elephant habitats in Assam to enhance habitat connectivity in high human-elephant conflict areas.
3. Enabling human-elephant coexistence through conflict mitigation, outreach, and community engagement activities.
4. Capacity building and coordination with government agencies and local communities to support conservation efforts.

The project will be implemented by the non-profit conservation organization Aaranyak, based in Assam, India, over a 4-year period from January 2025 to December 2028. This grant award continues Aaranyak's history of receiving federal funding to support Asian elephant conservation in the region.

Specific objectives are as follows: 1) understand aspects of elephant ecology that includes genetic connectivity, movement ecology, physiological stress and feeding ecology of asian elephants 2) restore 200 hectares of degraded elephant habitats in assam to enhance connectivity in high HEC areas in assam 3) enable human-elephant coexistence through HEC mitigation, outreach and community engagement and 4) work with government line departments and local communities for capacity building and convergence.