As grasslands in India continue to battle a perception problem, the seeds of which were sowed by the British who classified them as wastelands, a project in Pune, Maharashtra is quietly paving a new path for conservation of these open natural ecosystems.
Pune-based The Grasslands Trust (TGT) and Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) are in the process of developing a pilot site to exhibit a working model for grasslands restoration.
The Grasslands Trust was started with a focus on the conservation of the biodiversity of open savannah grasslands in and around Pune. Mihir Godbole from TGT said the Trust was working with ATREE on the GPS-collaring of wolves and other carnivores when the team began to realise how degradation of grasslands was causing an imbalance in the ecosystem.
