Background

Located on the outskirts of Mumbai, the Tansa Valley is one of Maharashtra’s most critical environmental zones at present. Being home to dense forests, an array of wildlife as well as the Tansa Lake (a crucial source of water, supplying almost 10% of Mumbai’s water needs); the valley plays a rather important role when it comes to preserving biodiversity and species survival. 

Yet, over the years, the region has come under the threat of unregulated industrialization and urban expansion including facing the brunt of hazardous chemical release and extractive production of pipes and bricks that not only disrupt the natural ecosystem but also take away from the health and livelihoods of the communities that are dependent on them. While policies and legal petitions do exist to safeguard areas like the Tansa, the challenge lies in making conservation efforts more accessible for the people that are most affected and grassroots organizations at the forefront of this fight face barriers like limited financial support, lack of visibility and/or insufficient staff training for volunteers. The gap between advocacy and widespread participation; with surveys showing about only 20% enthusiasm from the current youth, leads to the momentum for immediate ecological action slowing down. 

Guardians of the Tansa Valley was created to respond to this very need. Rather than being limited to top-down advocacy, the project hopes to build pathways for organizations, volunteers and students to directly participate in conversation. Through a combination of efforts, it seeks to position itself as a platform where policy and public participation can come together to safeguard one of the state’s most endangered natural treasures.