WCT works to improve living conditions in Anti-poaching Camps (APC) so that staff are safe and comfortable.
APCs are a fundamental unit of protection within a reserve. Strategically placed at sensitive locations in a forest, APCs serve as a base from where guards can patrol the surrounding landscape. The remoteness of these locations poses several challenges for forest officials who battle extreme weather conditions and face life-threatening situations on a daily basis.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, WCT has equipped 1,800 APCs in over 60 Protected Areas (PAs).
WCT has designed Solar Integrated Systems that are installed in APCs to provide electricity for lighting and charging of essential equipment – wireless sets, torches, digital cameras, rechargeable batteries, mobile phones etc. Over 2,000 such units have been installed in APCs in over 60 PAs.
To ensure that officials have access to clean drinking water, WCT provided reverse osmosis filtration units to parks such as Gir, Bandipur, Nagarahole and Panna and now, potable water from the central facility is sent to remote APCs.
WCT also donates potable water filtration units to inaccessible APCs. Officials living in APCs in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, among other states, have greatly benefitted from these plants
Each landscape has its own challenges and WCT tailors its approach accordingly.
In the Sundarban Tiger Reserve, staff required a field station in Chulkati. Due to the remoteness of the location, costs were extremely high and government budgets were insufficient. WCT stepped in and today the camp allows staff to patrol 200 sq. km. of forest that was previously inaccessible to them.
In the Pakke Tiger Reserve, delivering food to remote APCs is both challenging and expensive. WCT has provided the funds necessary to ensure that adequate rations are delivered to all APCs in Pakke in a timely manner.
WCT goes beyond equipping APCs to influencing how these stations are built.
WCT designed a pilot APC in Bandipur to showcase how camps can be built in an environmentally-friendly manner while simultaneously ensuring the comfort of field staff.
The pilot APC uses solar power for electrification, has plenty of natural light, a water harvesting facility and an inbuilt efficient cooking stove. It was built with naturally-insulating bricks made from soil available on-site.
