Subject: : WTI Invites Applications for its Wild Aid Programme
The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is a registered charitable trust
committed to providing rapid aid to wildlife in times of crisis.
The key programme of WTI is WILD AID.
Wild Aid aims to provide rapid and timely assistance to protect wildlife
in times of crisis such as a poaching outbreak or a natural calamity.
The programme is implemented in a manner that avoids procedural
complexities and delays.
WTI is geared to act quickly, ensuring that assistance reaches the
field, where it is needed the most, as soon as possible. This could be
in the form of finance, equipment, infrastructure and expert personnel,
or it could also be in the form of support for training.
WTI takes pleasure in inviting applications for its above scheme, the
details of which are enclosed. We look forward to your involvement in
making this programme a success and hope you will spread the word among
like-minded friends. We also look forward to your comments and
suggestions to help make the programme practical and user friendly.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Vivek Menon
THE WILDLIFE TRUST OF INDIA
The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) was set up in November 1998 in
response to the rapidly deteriorating condition of wildlife of India.
WTI is a registered charitable trust in India (under Section 12A of the
Income Tax Act, 1961). It has as its express purpose, the rapid aid to
wildlife in times of crisis. WTI works through a network of
conservation groups and individuals.
AIMS
The mission of the Wildlife Trust of India is to initiate and catalyse
urgent action to reverse the trend of destruction of India’s wildlife.
1. Provide emergency assistance to protect endangered Indian wildlife
species with particular priority to the tiger, the elephant and the
rhino.
2.Catalyse action by government and the people for conservation of
wildlife and its habitat.
3. Provide aid in terms of expertise, money, equipment etc to
individuals
to assist wildlife in times of crisis.
4.Maintain and boost the morale of wildlife protection staff in the
field by equipping them to discharge their responsibilities more
effectively.
5.Support research programmes, field action projects, and other
activities that encourage proactive action for conservation of wildlife
and wild habitats.
5.Produce and disseminate public awareness material and communication
strategies that will promote the main objectives of the Trust.
6.Acquire and set aside land for wildlife conservation and assist in its
management.
THE APPROACH
The Wildlife Trust of India is geared to act quickly with minimum
bureaucracy, ensuring that assistance reaches the field, where it is
needed the most, as soon as possible. This could be in the form of
finance, equipment, infrastructure and expert personnel, or it could
also be in the form of support for training. Rehabilitation and
re-introduction of wild species into their national habitat, acquiring
land for wildlife, creating innovative communication packages and
providing relief in cases of conflict etc, are also part of the approach
to promoting conservation.
Currently WTI has three main programmes on its agenda:
? WILD AID - Rapid action programme for Indian wildlife
? WILD RESCUE - Rehabilitation and reintroduction programme for
confiscated and stray wildlife
? WILD LANDS - Acquiring private lands for purposes of wildlife
conservation
WILD AID
(Rapid Action Programme for Indian Wildlife)
THE PROBLEM
Indian wildlife faces a strange dilemma. On the one hand, wildlife in
the country seems to be besieged by insurmountable difficulties that
include a fast shrinking habitat, a huge poaching problem and the
pressures that a population of nearly one billion people exert on it.
On the other hand, India is still home to 60% of the world’s tigers, 80
% of its greater one-horned rhinos and 50% of its Asian elephants.
Indians are traditionally conservation minded -- they tolerate and
worship wildlife.
India also has a growing band of dedicated conservationists who are
working overtime to save habitats and species. This is what makes
supporting any conservation action in India meaningful.
THE ACTION
Ground level action is needed to halt the downward slide of many of
India’s wildlife species. While long term public awareness and research
are vital for the survival of Indian wildlife in the foreseeable future,
it is rapid fire-fighting measures that are going to keep it alive.
Wild Aid will provide assistance during natural calamities and disease
epidemics. It will consider equipment and capital support, training and
even compensation for death or injury. Wild Aid aims to be extremely
flexible and will also help in facilitating flow of key information
which may take long to gather through normal channels.
The Wild Aid programme aims to provide such assistance rapidly, and in
time, to avert wildlife catastrophes that can endanger wildlife or even
long term conservation measures that may already be in place.
WILD AID
(Application Procedure)
Who can Apply: Any individual involved with wildlife or wildlife habitat
conservation or research, whether government or NGO, can request for
assistance.
How to Apply: In a write-up not exceeding three A4 sized pages
? Name, mailing address, phone, fax, email
? Organisational affiliation
? State the problem
? Nature of the assistance needed.
? Urgency of assistance
? Action proposed with this assistance
? Time frame of action.
? Expected results.
? Details of costs with rates.
? A brief profile of the applicant, listing relevant experience.
Where to Apply: Programme Coordinator
Wild Aid
Wildlife Trust of India
P.O. Box 3150
New Delhi – 110 003
Telefax : 91 11 6451397
Email : indianwildlife@vsnl.com
Contact Person: Aniruddha Mookerjee
Who Decides: After initial screening, the request will be placed before
the Board of Trustees, whose decision will be final. If necessary, WTI
may send its representative to assess the gravity of the problem and
suggest suitable measures.
Processing Time: Depending on the urgency of the problem, WTI will
respond with a decision within a period ranging from 7 to 30 days after
the receipt of application. In emergency situations aid can be
sanctioned within 24 hours.However, applicants are requested, as far as
possible, to anticipate their needs and write well in advance.
WTI TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS
The Wildlife Trust of India has for its Chairman, Thomas Mathew, former
Secretary General of WWF-India and more recently, Director of
Conservation in the Asia Pacific Programme of WWF US. Mr Mathew has
been associated with wildlife conservation in India for the last 25
years and was appointed to the Order of the Golden Ark by HRH Prince
Bernhard of the Netherlands for his services to conservation.
Ashok Kumar is a Trustee of Wildlife Trust of India and the Vice
President of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. He has been at
the forefront of the fight against poachers and illegal trade of
wildlife and their derivatives in India for over two decades. Mr Kumar
was the first director of TRAFFIC INDIA (an organisation that fights
wildlife crime) as well as a consultant to the Union Ministry of
Environment and Forests.
Tara Gandhi, Trustee, is a conservationist and ornithologist, currently
working on protected area planning with the Indian Institute of Public
Administration. Ms Gandhi headed the Community Bio-diversity
Conservation Movement (CBCM) programme of WWF-India before working with
the bio-diversity programme of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
Vivek Menon is the Executive Director of the Trust and is a
conservation biologist who has worked for the past decade on the
conservation of a number of endangered species including the Asian
elephant and greater one horned rhino. Currently an Honorary Wildlife
Warden of Delhi, he is also a Senior Consultant to the Asian elephant
research and conservation centre in Bangalore.
Wildlife Trust of India
P.O. Box 3150
New Delhi – 110 003
Telefax : 91 11 6451397
Email : indianwildlife@vsnl.com