Our Projects
VFAES’s mission and vision are driven by specific projects and timelines. You can now donate to the project that resonates with your heart and soul, while helping us improve the welfare conditions of endangered Asian elephants.
Waterhole at the Jurki-Raipal-Sarisua intersection in the Balasore range
Waterhole at Bhagabandh-Sarisua-Kaptipada range
Several waterholes have been created at the trijunction of Balasore, Baripada, and Hardgarh in Odisha that serves as a critical habitat for elephants. The site is frequented by a herd of elephants, indicating that it holds significance for them. During the construction of waterholes, elephants continued to visit the area, leaving behind their footprints.
This trijunction likely boasts diverse ecological features, including a wide variety of vegetation and topography, contributing to the rich biodiversity and abundance of resources, making it an attractive habitat for elephants. VFAES partnered with Paribartan India to implement this critical project.
Meanwhile, the ground being prepared to plant approximately 20,000 saplings in the Pallahara and Balasore range for them to blossom during the 2023 rainy season, expected by mid-July. Thanks to our generous donors for their ongoing support to help us provide basic survival needs to these beleaguered elephants.
As the harsh summer envelops vast regions of India, with temperatures soaring up to 45 degrees Celsius or 113 Fahrenheit, water sources are drying up, pushing elephants out of the forests and into the villages, intensifying human elephant conflict, and leading to tragedies. By providing enough food and water resources inside the forests, elephants will hopefully remain inside the forests.
More than 80% of elephant habitats have been lost to reckless development to sustain humans - with the population in India at 1.41 billion as of this year, surpassing China, and earning the top spot for an overcrowded country.
The latest results of the EleSense device, aimed at preventing elephant deaths on the deadly Indian Railway. Our first key finding is, the sensor can detect elephants with a 100% accuracy. Between January and July 2023, EleSense has potentially saved more than 160 elephants.
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161 detections of elephants near railway tracks, potentially averting 161 accidents between January and July 2023. The signal transmitted by EleSense allowed enough time to inform elephant presence near railway tracks to the station masters, who relayed the message to the train pilots just in time to prevent a tragedy.
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The module transmits information to the railway control room via SMS module from all the installed locations.
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In collaboration with our grassroots partner, Nature Mates India in West Bengal, and our technology expert, SNAP Foundation we installed around 40 devices in our 1st phase.
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At a joint workshop presided by our Founder, Sangita Iyer, stakeholders, including Railway, Forest Ministries, Tea-Estate Association, Police Dept., Media, and local NGOs, were appraised on how EleSense functions, while discussing the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders.
We will soon be launching our second phase of the EleSense project. Thanks to our grassroots partner, Nature Mates India and our technical experts at SNAP Foundation. And most importantly, thanks to our generous donors for their generosity to save our precious elephants.
After four years of patient and diligent collaboration, strategic planning, and fundraising, VFAES recently purchased four acres of land from private owners inside the Nilambur forest of Kerala. The land, which had been converted to a plantation, is surrounded by reserve forest, a key habitat for a variety of wildlife, including elephants, tigers, and leopards. The area also forms part of the Nilambur Elephant Reserve and houses around 340 elephants. VFAES is now awaiting court documents enabling VFAES to transfer the land to the Kerala Forest Department to be rewilded and kept as a natural habitat in perpetuity. This rare public, governmental, and nongovernmental partnership exemplifies VFAES’s inclusive and collaborative approach to conservation, garnering media coverage that can be found on our news coverage page.