With the support of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), The Corbett foundation (TCF) has embarked on a 3-year project to bring about a holistic rural development in 15 villages of Sawantwadi block in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. The project will address the needs and challenges of livelihood, education, natural resource management/conservation, water and sanitation, awareness generation and conservation education in these villages. The project is in tune with the holistic approach that TCF believes in and practices to address the conservation issues around wilderness areas. The area around Amboli-Dodamarg Conservation Reserve, where many of the villages are situated, is a part of the Western Ghats and acts as corridor for the dispersing population of tigers and other threatened wildlife between the forest areas of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. 

TCF is grateful to NPCI for this valuable funding support towards this important project. 

Amur falcon ( Falco amurensis) is a long-distance flocking, migratory species that breeds in China, Mongolia and Russia and migrates to southern African countries during the non-breeding season passing over South and Southeast Asian countries including India. These falconst arrive in very large numbers in the northeast states of Nagaland and Manipur at the begining of the winter season, where they have been traditionally hunted. However, consistent conservation efforts by NGOs and state government agencies have reduced this threat to a large extent. 

Under it's nature conservation project in Tamenglong district of Manipur, The Corbett Foundation (TCF) in collaboration with IndiGo Reach has been working with the local villagers and established a network of youths to strengthen the Amur Falcon conservation efforts under a massive campaign for protecting the Amur falcon. The Manipur Forest Department is a valuable partner in this campaign and it has mostly adopted awareness literature and posters designed by The Corbett Foundation to reach out to the students and villagers not to harm the birds and promote ecotourism. Puching and Chiulon villages formed the core of the campaign with youth, kids, and women where these falcons often roost. 

This campaign is a part of the larger nature conservation project that includes community livelihoods, habitat restoration, reducing community dependence on forests and conservation education. We are grateful to IndiGo Reach for this much-needed financial support in this less-explored biodiversity-rich region of northeast India.