By placing local communities at the centre of wildlife protection, IFS officer Gajendra Prakash Narwane helped transform Tadoba’s buffer zone through livelihoods, tourism, clean energy, water security and conservation education.
Gajendra Prakash Narwane, a 2008-batch Indian Forest Service officer of the Maharashtra cadre, served as Deputy Director, Buffer Zone, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, from 2013 to 2018. During his tenure, he worked towards a community-led conservation model built on a simple idea: protecting wildlife becomes more effective when the people living alongside forests also have a stake in protecting them.
When Conservation Met Community Needs
For communities living around Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, the declaration of the buffer zone initially created concerns about livelihoods and access to forest resources.
Instead of viewing these concerns simply as resistance to conservation, Narwane and his team focused on consultation and participation. The aim was to make villagers partners in planning rather than passive recipients of government schemes. The foundation of this approach was the creation of 93 Eco-Development Committees (EDCs).
Villagers were encouraged to identify their own priorities through surveys and community consultations. These priorities were then incorporated into village-level microplans, with EDC meetings providing a platform to review implementation and make changes according to local needs.
For Narwane, this participatory process was crucial because conservation solutions could not be separated from the social and economic realities of the communities living around the reserve.
Turning Tiger Tourism Into Local Livelihoods
Tadoba’s growing reputation as a tiger destination created an opportunity to connect wildlife tourism with local economic development.
Under EDC management, six pioneering safari routes were developed, along with additional ecotourism destinations. Villagers were trained as nature guides and supported in becoming safari-vehicle owners.
The model included financial assistance through repayment-based soft loans that helped villagers purchase safari vehicles.
Contemporary reports from Tadoba during this period documented EDCs becoming directly involved in operating buffer-zone tourism and purchasing their own Gypsies.
The objective was not simply to bring more tourists into the reserve. It was to ensure that the economic benefits generated by wildlife tourism could reach the communities living around it.
As tiger tourism grew, conservation could therefore become a source of employment rather than something communities viewed only through the lens of restrictions.
21,169 LPG Connections Reduced Dependence On Forests
One of the biggest challenges facing villages around Tadoba was dependence on fuelwood. Collecting firewood required families, particularly women, to regularly enter forest areas. This placed additional pressure on forest resources and could also expose people to encounters with wildlife.
The administration responded by facilitating 21,169 LPG connections, along with more than 1.8 lakh LPG refills and 7,075 cement platforms. The connections were provided with a 75 per cent subsidy, with EDCs helping coordinate the process with LPG dealers.
The intervention was significant not just as a household welfare measure, but as a conservation strategy. Reducing dependence on fuelwood meant reducing pressure on forests while also limiting the need for people to enter wildlife habitats in search of firewood.
The approach also included an experiment with biomass pellets. Two machines were purchased to produce fuel pellets from biomass generated during forest fireline work, with local youth expected to operate the units.
Creating Livelihoods For Women And Farmers
Conservation efforts also extended into household incomes. Eight livelihood centres for women were established to create new economic opportunities, while self-help groups were supported as part of the broader community-development model.
Agriculture was another area where local needs and conservation goals intersected. Farmers told the forest administration that crop damage by wildlife was making cultivation difficult. They sought assistance to protect their fields so they could cultivate a second crop.
Solar fencing was subsequently promoted, with around 5,000 farmers covered under the broader initiative. By reducing crop losses, the intervention aimed to improve agricultural incomes while reducing the pressure to expand cultivation into forest areas.
The experience also highlighted the complexity of conservation. Solar fencing could not be treated as a universal solution to human-wildlife conflict, and Narwane later emphasised the importance of awareness and appropriate strategies in conflict-prone areas.
83 Water Bodies And Clean Drinking Water
Improving the lives of people around the reserve was central to the model. A total of 83 water bodies were rejuvenated, helping improve water availability for communities and the surrounding landscape.
The programme also addressed drinking-water quality. In villages where groundwater contained high levels of iron, filtration systems were established with CSR support.
Around 24,000 families reportedly gained access to clean drinking water. Sanitation was addressed as well, with more than 3,000 people receiving assistance to construct toilets.
These interventions may appear separate from wildlife conservation, but they addressed everyday reasons why villagers had to depend on or enter forest areas.
For a conservation model based on coexistence, improving access to basic amenities was therefore part of reducing human dependence on forests and lowering potential points of conflict.
Teaching Children To See The Forest Differently
Narwane’s approach also recognised that long-term conservation depends on how the next generation understands its relationship with wildlife.
At Agarzari, residential camps were organised for children and teachers to learn about forests, wildlife and conservation. Around 1,000 children were trained every year through such initiatives.
Another programme, “Chwalamaja Tadobala”, meaning roughly “Let’s Go To My Tadoba”, took children from schools around the district into the reserve.
For many children living near Tadoba, the programme offered an opportunity to experience the forest not merely as a place surrounding their villages, but as an ecosystem they could understand, value and help protect.
Relocating Villages From The Tiger Reserve’s Core
Community participation also extended to voluntary village rehabilitation from the reserve’s core area. During Narwane’s tenure, Jamni and Palasgaon Singru were rehabilitated under the NTCA’s framework, with relocated communities receiving modern amenities and agricultural land for eligible beneficiaries.
Jamni’s relocation, for example, involved different rehabilitation options for families, including financial assistance, land and housing support.
The broader rehabilitation process was aimed at creating conditions where families could move out of the core while maintaining their livelihoods and access to essential infrastructure.
This was important because relocation without viable livelihoods can simply transfer one problem elsewhere. The Tadoba experience demonstrated the importance of linking habitat restoration with human rehabilitation.
Not Every Experiment Worked
The Tadoba model was not without setbacks. One programme attempted to replace unproductive cattle with milch breeds. The idea was to encourage stall feeding, reduce cattle grazing inside forests and create a stronger dairy-based livelihood.
However, participation remained limited in several villages. The programme ultimately brought only 231 milch cattle under the initiative.
The experience reinforced an important lesson for Narwane: conservation programmes cannot simply be designed from the top down. What works in one village may not work in another.
Community participation has to mean more than consultation. People must have a genuine role in deciding which solutions are relevant to them.
“Conservation Goals Can Be Aligned With People’s Aspirations”
Reflecting on his approach, Narwane has emphasised the importance of giving communities the power to identify and address their own problems. “Consultation and empowerment of people in prioritising their problems and finding solutions is crucial,” he said.
His experience also led him to view Eco-Development Committees and Joint Forest Management institutions as some of the most underused tools in forest and wildlife conservation.
The philosophy behind his Tadoba work can be summed up in one principle: wildlife protection and human development do not necessarily have to compete with each other.
When communities have alternative sources of income, access to clean energy and water, protection for their crops, opportunities through tourism and a stronger understanding of wildlife, conservation can become a shared interest.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Tadoba’s experience offers an important lesson for conservation across India.Protecting a tiger reserve does not begin and end with the forest boundary. The communities living around it are part of the landscape, and their livelihoods, aspirations and everyday choices directly influence the future of the ecosystem.
By establishing 93 EDCs, creating community-linked tourism, providing 21,169 LPG connections, supporting women’s livelihoods, protecting farms, rejuvenating 83 water bodies, improving access to clean water and introducing thousands of children to conservation, Narwane’s approach attempted to make local communities stakeholders in wildlife protection.
The larger lesson is clear: conservation is more sustainable when people do not have to choose between protecting nature and improving their own lives.
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