Escape Velocity Grants

Historically, central India and the Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra were home to wild elephants. However, elephants were captured from these regions in large numbers to the point that they were driven to a local extinction. Battle successes for kingdoms in the middle ages depended on how many elephants they had in their armies, in the British era elephants were used in the logging industries. As a result, the local communities of Gadchiroli and eastern Maharashtra have not experienced the presence of wild elephants for the past 15-20 generations.

Raptors inhabiting Open Natural Ecosystems exhibit the steepest population declines among all avian guilds, as documented in the State of Indian Birds 2023 report. Despite supporting substantial raptor assemblages, these ecosystems are threatened and are systematically misclassified as “wastelands” in land-use planning frameworks, leading to habitat degradation and fragmentation. To quantify the ecological consequences of land use and land cover change on raptor populations, we propose employing the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) as a model species to monitor the impact of grassland fragmentation on the species habitat use through its movement patterns from telemetry data.

Rodent pests (Bandicota bengalensis, Rattus spp.) cause an estimated 10–25% yield loss in dryland millet and pulse systems in southern India, equivalent to approximately 250–300 kg ha⁻¹ or ₹10,000–30,000 per hectare, depending on crop and season. These losses have driven widespread use of chemical rodenticides, particularly zinc phosphide, which can achieve short-term control but is associated with high non-target mortality, and bromadiolone, an anticoagulant rodenticide linked to documented secondary poisoning in owls and other raptors. Studies from Indian agroecosystems report detectable rodenticide residues in 25–40% of sampled owls, raising significant conservation concerns.

Human–leopard conflict in the Greater Pocharam Landscape of Telangana has resulted in repeated livestock losses, heightened fear among farming communities, and retaliatory killing of over 20 leopards in the last decade. Despite the species’ ecological importance and adaptability, the absence of locally driven early-warning mechanisms has limited conflict prevention efforts in this region.

Jasrath, a village in Lahaul, faces recurring brown bear incursions into farms and orchards. Households report substantial crop losses and limited access to practical, non-lethal mitigation measures. As horticulture and cash crops become increasingly important for livelihoods, the economic and emotional costs of repeated damage rise, making coexistence harder without effective prevention. This proposal builds as a focused pilot under our larger, ongoing conflict mitigation effort supported through seed funding from Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI); the requested micro-grant will help close a critical last-mile gap for implementation of mesh-wire solar electric fence on the bear entry points/paths of villages

Majuli, the world’s largest river island, has been facing relentless soil erosion for decades. Shifting river currents, yearly floods, and changing climate patterns have gradually eroded away landmass to the extent that the island has lost almost one-third of its total area in the last two and a half decades. This ongoing loss threatens homes, agricultural fields, food security, and the island’s unique cultural heritage. In response to these challenges, the project aims to develop a youth-led habitat restoration and agroforestry initiative in Salmora village that strengthens Majuli’s natural resilience. The project will involve around 20-30 indigenous youths from disaster-prone communities, many of whom have faced and witnessed the effects of erosion and displacement throughout their lives.

Swarnapriya Prusty is from Keonjhar, Orissa and dreams of studying and attending college. Due to lack of resources, her parents are pressured to consider marriage for her instead of a college education. This grant by @_svs_ is going to serve as a guiding post to all girls.

Parinita Kanekar is from Thane, Maharashtra and wants to build a career in finance. She has enrolled in @invactHQ‘s equity research course and intends to use the course as the building block towards a job in finance. She will invest the grant amount in a laptop.