Forest conservation today demands much more than protecting trees and wildlife. It requires securing vulnerable forest land, preventing wildlife crime, restoring degraded habitats, managing human-animal conflict and, equally importantly, ensuring that communities living around forests have a meaningful stake in conservation.
It is in this challenging space that G. Guruprasad, a 2012-batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the Maharashtra cadre, has pursued a field-oriented approach to forest and wildlife management. During his assignments, including as Deputy Conservator of Forests in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) buffer and in his present role as Conservator of Forests (Territorial), Nagpur Circle, he has combined firm enforcement with restoration and community participation.
From reclaiming nearly 2,100 hectares of illegally encroached forest land and restoring it through teak and bamboo plantations to detecting more than 150 wildlife hunting cases involving over 350 offenders, his interventions have addressed some of the most persistent challenges facing forest landscapes.
At the same time, he has promoted community-linked ecotourism, strengthened local wildlife rescue and conflict-response teams, facilitated village relocation from tiger habitats and erected more than 25,000 permanent boundary pillars to secure forest boundaries.
Indian Masterminds interacted with Mr Guruprasad, Conservator of Forests (Territorial), Nagpur Circle, to understand the initiatives and their wider impact.
How It Started: Protecting the Forest from the Ground Up
For IFS Guruprasad, effective conservation begins with securing the forest itself.
During his tenure, nearly 2,100 hectares of forest land in Pandharkawada, the TATR buffer and Kolhapur divisions were cleared of illegal encroachments. But eviction was only the first step. The reclaimed areas were subsequently brought back under forest cover through teak and bamboo plantations.
The approach was intended to ensure that recovered forest land remained ecologically productive and was not vulnerable to renewed encroachment.
“Eviction alone cannot be considered the end of the exercise. The reclaimed land has to be restored and protected so that it becomes a part of the forest ecosystem again,” he explained.
The officer also focused on strengthening the physical demarcation of forest boundaries. More than 25,000 permanent boundary pillars were erected along forest and non-forest boundaries, creating a visible and durable demarcation of protected forest land.
Tackling Wildlife Crime Through Enforcement
Forest protection also requires a strong response to wildlife crime.
During his tenure, forest officials detected more than 150 wildlife hunting cases, leading to the booking of over 350 offenders under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Complaints were subsequently filed before courts to pursue legal action.
The enforcement drive covered sensitive landscapes including Pandharkawada, Kolhapur and the TATR buffer.
For Guruprasad, legal enforcement is an important component of conservation because wildlife protection cannot depend solely on field surveillance.
“Wildlife protection has to be backed by effective investigation, proper documentation and prosecution. Detecting a case is only one part; ensuring that the matter reaches the court is equally important,” he said.
From Forest Villages to New Opportunities
Conservation efforts around tiger reserves often involve difficult questions concerning human settlements and wildlife habitat.
During his tenure, Guruprasad was involved in the successful relocation of part of Khelpani and Wan villages from Melghat Tiger Reserve, as well as Palasgaon and Kolsa villages from the core area of TATR.
At the same time, he promoted livelihood opportunities for communities living around forest areas through ecotourism.
His work in the TATR buffer zone included opening eight new ecotourism tiger safari gates, along with facilities such as boating, kayaking, machan stays, camping sites and adventure activities.
These initiatives created direct and indirect employment opportunities for more than 500 local youth.
“If local communities see a legitimate livelihood opportunity connected with conservation, they can become important partners in protecting the landscape. Tourism has to create value for the people living around the forest,” he said.
Community Participation Becomes a Conservation Tool
The community-based model was also extended to wildlife conflict management.
In 40 highly sensitive villages, Primary Response Teams (PRTs) were constituted, involving around 200 local youth—five members from each village.
The objective was to create a trained first-response mechanism that could assist the forest department during human-animal conflict situations.
In Kolhapur division, six-member Rapid Rescue Teams (RRTs) were established at the range level. Team members were provided training and equipment to respond to wildlife emergencies.
The results have extended beyond large mammals. During the last two years, these teams have successfully rescued and released more than 4,000 animals and reptiles into the wild.
“The first few minutes of a conflict situation are extremely important. Having trained people locally means that the response can begin quickly rather than waiting for a team to travel from a distant location,” he explained.
Ecotourism Beyond Tiger Safaris
Guruprasad’s ecotourism approach has also extended beyond the tiger landscape.
In Kolhapur division, tourism and conservation initiatives were developed around locations including Donwade-Nitawde waterfalls, Bhudarghad Fort, the Amba-Manoli route, Barki waterfalls, Tillari and Tabak Garden near Panhala.
Together, these destinations attract nearly 40,000 visitors every month, creating opportunities for local economic activity while bringing greater public attention to natural and cultural landscapes.
The underlying idea is to diversify tourism beyond conventional wildlife safaris and create opportunities around landscapes that combine biodiversity, water bodies, forests and heritage.
Building a Culture of Conservation
His conservation work has also included afforestation, biodiversity awareness and protection of threatened plant species.
In Nagpur, he has supported initiatives such as the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” plantation campaign, involving forest personnel and local communities in increasing green cover.
He has also supported biodiversity documentation and public awareness initiatives, including conservation newsletters, while contributing to efforts around the Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET) Park at Ruikhairi, aimed at conserving vulnerable plant species.
Alongside ecological interventions, Guruprasad has also emphasised the human side of forest administration by recognising the contribution and sacrifices of forest guards and officers who have lost their lives during anti-poaching operations, wildlife encounters and forest-fire management.
A Conservation Model Built on Protection and Participation
Across his different assignments, Guruprasad’s work reflects an approach in which enforcement, restoration, technology, community participation and livelihoods are treated as interconnected elements of conservation.
Whether it is reclaiming encroached forest land, prosecuting wildlife offenders, strengthening village-level response teams, relocating settlements from critical tiger habitats or creating employment through ecotourism, the emphasis has remained on translating conservation policy into sustained action on the ground.
“Conservation becomes sustainable when protection of forests and the interests of local communities move together. Our objective should be to create a situation where communities see the forest not merely as land around them, but as an asset worth protecting for the future,” IFS Guruprasad said.
His experience demonstrates how field-level forest administration can extend beyond conventional enforcement – building stronger institutions, restoring habitats and creating a relationship between forests and the communities that live alongside them.
