WATER

FOR BANDHAVGARH'S TIGERS

Climate Change has resulted in successive years of poor monsoon rainfall which has in turn led to severe extended droughts in Bandhavgarh impacting all. Thirsty prey animals enter the villages to drink & graze crops. Predators follow in search of food & take livestock. People can’t afford to lose crops/livestock to wildlife so look to end the conflict by fair or foul means risking tigers’ lives. Our project will provide solar-powered borehole pumps to bring underground water to the surface year-round for tigers & their prey thus reducing human-animal conflict and the impact of climate change.

Challenge

Since 2015 Bandhavgarh has been suffering from an acute water crisis due to erratic rainfall and long dry spells. Existing wildlife waterholes previously replenished by rainwater have become dry earlier each year. Wildlife then needs to look elsewhere for water, which increases human-animal conflict due to crop raiding and livestock predation. Each permanent Tigers4Ever waterhole we create will provide water for up to 9 wild tigers and countless other wildlife whilst reducing human-animal conflict.

Solution

Our project has provided 13 solar powered borewell pump systems since 2017 which provide permanent water at 19 waterholes – 4 large, 5 medium-large and 10 smaller ones for tigers and other wildlife. The borewells use underground sources to provide year-round wildlife water where there would be none. Surplus water returns via soak-away systems. We’ve installed systems to provide water for up to 105 wild tigers and countless other wildlife to date. In total our solar pumps provide water at 19 locations and we’re currently working on our next two solar-pump systems which will bring the number of Tigers4Ever waterholes to 21 and the number of wild tigers helped to over 115. These waterholes help to reduce human-animal conflict in nearby villages. Your donations will help us to reduce human-animal conflict and save many animals via the provision of year-round water in other locations where conflict is rife.

Long-Term Impact

The lives of thousands of wild tigers and other animals will be saved by the year round availability of water. This will lead to reduced human-animal conflict and will contribute to the conservation of the tigers’ environment & sustainability through ecologically focused actions.