WWF-India and Ramboll partner to conserve biodiversity and support vulnerable communities in India’s Godavari River Basin

We’re joining hands to initiate a unique project on forest and habitat conservation, enabling nature and communities to thrive in the highly biodiverse Godavari River Basin.

Photo of a deer in the Godavari River Basin, in India.

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WWF-India and the Ramboll Group and Ramboll Foundation (hereafter referred to as Ramboll) have joined hands to initiate a unique project on forest and habitat conservation to enable wildlife recovery and strengthen community led conservation initiatives in the Godavari River Basin, in India.

The project, which began in October 2023, is supported financially by the Ramboll Foundation, with specialised skills offered by way of in-kind hours volunteered by Ramboll employees.

Large parts of the Godavari Basin are thickly forested, although with a low density of wildlife, especially apex predators such as tigers and wild herbivores which are their prey. The region is also home to several tribal communities largely dependent on the forests for their livelihoods. These communities include Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups such as Koyas and Kollams, as well as Mannae.

The region offers important and critical opportunities for initiatives in landscape restoration and management towards the long-term well-being of wildlife and people. The project partners will work jointly on mapping forests to identify and prioritise actions for the recovery of wildlife, including social mapping of forest-dwelling and forest-fringe communities.

“WWF-India is thrilled to be joining hands with Ramboll to initiate conservation action in the Godavari Landscape. We believe this is a great opportunity to put in place collaborative approaches and seek innovative solutions to protect the biodiversity of the region and secure the well-being of the local communities.” – Yash Shethia, Director, Wildlife & Habitats Programme, WWF-India.

Ramboll is proud to support WWF-India’s vital work of conserving endangered wildlife and supporting local vulnerable communities in India’s Godavari River Basin. Enabling communities and nature to cohabit in equitable and more sustainable ways is key to preserving biodiversity and ecosystems, while improving liveability and resiliency of societies.

Lone Tvis

Chief People Officer, Ramboll.

“The Ramboll Foundation is proud to support a culture of volunteering in Ramboll and believes the WWF partnership is a great example of how we can make an impact when it comes to supporting and promoting a sustainable future for the benefit of nature, society, and people alike. We are very excited to the see this project unfold locally in partnership between Ramboll and WWF experts, and to follow the conservation of the Godavari Landscape."

– Søren Staugaard Nielsen, Managing Director, Ramboll Foundation

Building an ecological and social profile of the Godavari Landscape In the initial phase, WWF-India and Ramboll will focus on building an ecological and social profile of the Godavari Landscape, that is, the Godavari River Basin and its surrounding areas in Telangana, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh states, a region with extensive forest cover.

WWF-India will provide core expertise in biodiversity, landscape, and social surveys, complemented by Ramboll’s expertise in ecology analysis, especially for geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing work.

Information and lessons learned in Phase I will lead to a deeper and wider engagement in the next phase.

More about the Ramboll Foundation

About WWF-India

WWF-India has been working towards wildlife and environment protection in the country since 1969. WWF- India is part of the WWF-International network and its national presence extends to over 75 state and field offices across more than 20 states.

The organization works in different geographical regions of the country towards the conservation of key wildlife species, protection of habitats, management of rivers, wetlands, and their ecosystems, climate change mitigation, sustainable livelihood alternatives for local communities, water, and carbon footprint reduction in industries, combating illegal wildlife trade, and inspiring students and citizens to take positive action for the environment through outreach and awareness campaigns.

WWF-India’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Want to know more?

Joeleen Gomes
Lead Communications & Marketing, India
Karin Simondon
Senior Sustainability Manager
+45 51 61 41 73