CAN FARMING IN WILDLIFE CORRIDORS BENEFIT PEOPLE AND BIODIVERSITY?

Originally published on WWF’s Tiger Alive

Wildlife corridors are critically important spaces that can be incredibly diverse. Some wildlife corridors have lots of people, large agricultural spaces and infrastructure, whereas others have very few people and healthy forests. No two wildlife corridors look the same. In tiger landscapes, healthy and functioning wildlife corridors provide connectivity for tigers that roam large distances to find food, a mate, or new territory. To take a better look at a wildlife corridor in practice we’re travelling to the Satpura-Pench corridor in the Central Indian Landscape. It’s here that farming communities are benefitting from a regenerative agriculture project that’s also helping to encourage biodiversity in the area. Q. What is Regenerative Agriculture? A. Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance the farm’s entire ecosystem by placing heavy focus on soil health, water management, fertiliser use, and more. It's a method of farming that improves the resources it uses rather than destroying or depleting them.

Welcome to Satpura-Pench corridor

The Satpura-Pench corridor connects Satpura Tiger Reserve and both Pench Tiger Reserves in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The dots in the infographic above are communities that live in and around the corridor. All three tiger reserves have increasing tiger populations, and there are challenges of human-tiger conflict here. A number of roads also cut through the Satpura-Pench corridor, threatening connectivity for wildlife, such as tigers, moving from one tiger reserve to the other. Coal mines also threaten connectivity here.

The corridor is a mosaic of agricultural land and you’ll see plenty of cotton farms while travelling through this area. Cotton production is an important part of the economy here, and India is one of the world’s largest cotton producers. In this area, the average landholding size is small, at less than two hectares per landholder. Striking a balance to ensure these crops provide a reliable income for communities and benefit biodiversity across the wider landscape is challenging but not impossible. 

A regenerative agriculture project is underway to make cotton farming in the Satpura-Pench corridor more profitable for local communities. In collaboration with partners, WWF-India is working with cotton farmers to support their transition to regenerative organic cotton farming practices.

Starting from the ground up

The process starts by collecting baseline information from each cotton farm. WWF-India works with the farmers to assess things such as the health of the soil, the pollinator status, crop production and overall income. Together with this data, they set achievable and realistic targets that, over time, will regenerate the soil, which supports better crop growth and increased production year on year.

Increased sustainable cotton production equals more money for farmers and the benefits go beyond monetary value. It’s important to note that global insect populations are in decline and insect conservation and soil biodiversity aren’t often the focus of conservation projects. Because of regenerative agriculture biodiversity is enhanced from the soil in the ground all the way up the food chain. In addition, carbon sequestration of the land increases, helping to fight climate change. The goal is to ensure farmers establish a secure economic foundation, encouraging them to remain committed to regenerative farming practices. Doing so reduces the chance of land use conversion and helps preserve the farm and forest mosaic areas in the corridor. The mosaic nature of the landscape relies on biodiversity, which is why tigers and other species have viable corridors between protected areas while productive farming continues.

The impact of the work is felt far beyond the farming community here. Cotton buyers and consumers can reduce the impact of the clothes they sell or wear. The foundation and success of this project are built on trust. It’s a huge leap for communities to change their farming practices, especially when their livelihoods depend on it. Ramwati supports her family of six by growing organic cotton on half of her three-acre farm. She was cautious about the project when she first heard about it and only decided to try changing her farming methods after seeing others from her village benefitting.

“Due to regenerative agriculture, my farm’s soil has become soft, and the input cost has reduced by more than 25%. I do not have to go to the market to buy fertilisers and pesticides as I can make them at home. Now, other farmers from my village also come to learn on my farm.” - Ramwati Bai Dhurve

Agriculture accounts for almost 40% of landuse in the Satpura-Pench corridor and forms the backbone of the economy. Communities here are proving that you can farm, coexist with wildlife and improve your income, but it’s important not to lose sight of the challenges of coexistence between people and tigers. Managing human-tiger conflict remains a high priority for WWF-India. The focus is to ensure communities benefit from living in tiger landscapes and are at the table during tiger conservation discussions. 

WWF-India’s goal is for everyone farming cotton in the Satpura-Pench corridor to use this regenerative agriculture approach. The success in the corridor is encouraging other cotton farmers in India to take part with WWF-India, also working on projects in south and west India. Beyond India we hope businesses and consumers see the opportunity to improve the livelihoods of cotton farmers and biodiversity across these areas of farm-forest mosaics. To sustain this momentum, we need more companies to make real commitments to buy cotton from regenerative sources to translate the interest into action and impact. 

Endangered tigers need you. Join the people who are fighting for MORE ROAR – your gift could support vital tiger conservation work in India, home to more than half the world’s remaining tigers.