When Krithi Karanth walks into a forest village in the shadow of India’s Bandipur National Park, she is often greeted by farmers with cell phones in hand — ready to report video of a night-time encounter with an elephant herd, or the fresh tracks of a leopard that passed behind their homes.

They are dispatches from the frontlines of some of the world’s most intense wildlife interactions. In the rolling green hills of India’s Western Ghats, survival depends on co-existing with high-density populations of some of the planet’s most imperiled species. That can come at a cost: Wild elephant herds can damage valuable banana plants, and tigers can turn up unexpectedly in sugarcane fields — threatening livestock and sometimes lives.

For farmers like Shankarappa in the region’s Naganapura village, these interactions often prompted fear. His family’s land lies just over half a mile away from Bandipur National Park, one of the last harbors of Asian elephants. “They’ve created a lot of issues,” he said.

Though global biodiversity is rapidly diminishing, many of the communities who live closest to nature are often left out of solutions. In many rural Indian regions, animals’ habitats are shrinking due to expanding agriculture and logging in forests. That’s forced villagers into closer contact with wildlife, often with devastating results. Karanth says the way forward is transforming how farmers perceive wildlife and empowering them to cope with the animals moving through their fields.

The CEO at the Centre for Wildlife Studies, a nonprofit research organization based in India, Karanth grew up among the same forests where she now conducts research and implements conservation programs. Her father is wildlife ecologist Ullas Karanth, one of the world’s leading tiger biologists. “I spent much of my childhood outdoors, watching wildlife and exploring forests,” she recalled. That early connection with nature has shaped her approach to conservation.

Krithi Karanth and her team show what coexistence looks like on the ground, from forest villages to farmers’ fields.

To help communities struggling with wildlife interactions, Karanth launched a program in 2015 to make it easier to respond to wildlife encounters in real time. After a conflict occurs, farmers can call a toll-free number and leave a voice message with details of the incident. Within hours, a trained field assistant rides out to the area to document evidence of the losses and help the farmer file for government compensation.

Most cases reported pertain to crop losses, property damage, and livestock predation. But there are also occasional cases of human injuries or deaths. By making it easier for families to get quick responses, the Wild Seve program helps protect their safety and food security.

Before Wild Seve, this was an expensive process that required time, travel, and endless forms. “It helps a lot with the time and the money,” says Shankarappa, who has now filed 59 claims and received nearly 96,000 rupees (around $1,082 dollars) in compensation.

So far, Wild Seve has assisted more than 14,600 families across 3,495 settlements. Each report adds to a growing database of incidents, which researchers can use to study who is most affected by wildlife, and where repeat conflicts are most common. Its trained field staff are able to answer questions about both the encounters and the process, helping people gain trust in the program and its concrete solutions.

Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, who has conducted extensive fieldwork in India with CWS, explained that by turning the reporting process over to communities, “you finally get a realistic count of what’s happening — which is good for science, and even better for trust.”

Crop damage from wildlife can wipe out half a year’s income for a farming family, according to Karanth. To further farmers’ financial stability, she launched an initiative with farmers around Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks. More than 10,000 people have signed up to plant and maintain fruit, timber, and medicinal trees. Wild Carbon then uses drone technology to monitor tree growth and survival.

By transitioning away from vulnerable monocrops like bananas, the program is helping farmers create new sources of income, while also building green corridors that reconnect fragmented wildlife habitats. As an added benefit, the trees also sequester carbon, helping adapt to climate change as they restore the landscape.

Robbins says that input from local communities is integral to Wild Carbon’s success. The project reflects residents’ input, recognizing that people may value different trees based on how they help support livelihoods or provide food. “Giving people as much choice as possible is really important,” Robbins said.

Mohan, a farmer in the Kalanahundi village along the southern edge of Bandipura National Park, has planted more than 300 saplings with Wild Carbon’s support. He says these newly planted trees have improved soil quality, and wild pigs, which are often the main cause of crop loss in his fields, don’t eat them. “The trees will also help me build a machan,” a type of raised platform that allows him to guard his crops from tigers, he added.

Both of these programs are staffed by locals, and have earned trust with rural farmers. “They understand the culture and speak the language, and are personally invested in the well-being of their neighbors and the wildlife around them,” Karanth added.

These innovative interventions have earned Karanth’s team the prestigious John P. McNulty Prize, which recognizes leaders for their courage and impact on critical global challenges. It was the first wildlife conservation organization among the prize’s 60 recipients. “It is an incredible honor, both personally and for the Centre for Wildlife Studies,” Karanth says. “For me, the award recognizes the unique space we occupy, one that bridges rigorous science with tangible impact for people and wildlife.”

While these approaches have already shown their worth in India, Karanth believes that they are adaptable and scalable to other biodiverse regions. Whether it’s elephants and lions in Africa, or tigers and leopards in Asia, she says the goal is to “help communities prevent and recover from wildlife-related losses rather than expecting them to tolerate these losses.” In a country where 1.5 billion people compete with endangered species for land and resources, those living closest to these animals, she says, will be a primary part of the solution.

Looking ahead, Karanth and her team hope to expand these solutions to address the urgent challenges wildlife face. She sees her work as a test case for the rest of the world: As climate change compresses habitats and pushes wildlife into closer contact with people, India’s response will shape conservation far beyond its borders.

Visit Centre for Wildlife Studies’ website for news and insights on innovative rewilding efforts, or to support their vital work.

The McNulty Foundation inspires, develops, and drives leaders to solve the critical challenges of our time. Created in 2008 by Anne Welsh McNulty in honor of her late husband, the John P. McNulty Prize is awarded in partnership with the Aspen Institute and has now recognized over 60 visionary leaders for their courage and lasting impact. The McNulty Prize strategically invests at the critical point between proof of concept and global scale, where few other supporters operate, to position leaders and mid-stage ventures for greater impact.