The Aravalli Biodiversity Park is located at the Delhi-Gurugram border and covers an approximate area of 392 acres. The highly scarred and denuded patches of once abandoned mining site within the Aravalli range have been transformed into a lush green forest in 10 years through the concerted efforts of the citizens and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). In 2010, an NGO comprising of concerned citizens, IamGurgaon (IAG), took up the initiative of ecological restoration of the area by developing it into a Biodiversity Park. While the Park is owned by the State and is governed by the MCG, the day-to-day management of the park was looked after by IAG until 2020. In 2021, MCG formally handed over the conservation and restoration work of the Park to Hero MotoCorp for the next decade. Since 2011, with the generous engagement of 68 corporates, more than 50 schools, thousands of children and citizens, about 1,45,000 plants of over 200 species have been planted in the park. With over 400 species of native plants species, it is envisioned as a pristine habitat for birds and wild animals of the Northern Aravalli. Recently, Aravalli Biodiversity Park was declared India’s first OECM site on World Wetlands Day 2022. This development was also acknowledged by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, while highlighting India’s efforts to effectively conserve biodiversity through OECM recognition.

Godrej and Boyce Pvt Ltd in Mumbai oversees India’s first privately managed mangrove belt. The area shelters 15 true mangroves and associated species. The site is supported by the Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej (SPG) Foundation, a trust registered by Godrej. For conservation of the mangroves, a nursery has been set up, and mangrove saplings have been distributed for plantation within Maharashtra and beyond. The firm has established nature trails, butterfly gardens and medicinal plants nursery. Every year around 7,000-10,000 citizens learn about biodiversity and the importance of mangroves through nature walks and other awareness programs organised by Godrej. As of mid-2020, the site has sequestered approximately 10,20,000 mt of carbon equivalent of CO2 in its biomass and sediments The initiative has inspired the State Forest Department, NGOs and academic institutions to undertake mangrove plantation along the coastlines.

The Nature Conservation Reserve established by TVS Motors in their Hossur Campus in Tamil Nadu has an area of 0.198km2 of the total campus area dedicated to the conservation of native biodiversity. An ecosystem of its own, the Reserve harbors a total of 288 faunal and 442 floral species by a team of conservations horticulturists, naturalists and forest officials. As part of the Farming for wildlife programme, millets of various species are sown to create a field-like profile, thereby attracting seed-eating birds in large numbers. They have also worked towards construction of percolation ponds, streams, stone shelters and nesting platforms to attract and retain wildlife. Species include the rare slender loris, Indian grey pangolin, the big-4 snakes of India, painted stork and several species of butterflies. Their initiative on use of renewable energy reduced the CO2 emissions by about 60,000 tonnes during 2019-20.

A small breeding population of the Greater Adjutant Stork was discovered by a team of bird watchers of the local Mandar Nature Club in the Bhagalpur district on the floodplains of river Ganges and Kosi. These floodplains are a 16 sq. km community conserved area that functions as a breeding and foraging ground for the Greater Adjutant Stork and many other birds. Mandar Nature Club, a local conservation group, is involved in sensitization and motivation of local communities for the protection of the area, resulting in a steady increase in their numbers, from 75-80 in 2006-07 to over 750 in 2018-19. The Bhagalpur Forest Division is also involved in guiding and facilitating the conservation activities in the area. The villagers now actively support the protection and conservation of the Greater Adjutant Stork ever since it has been shown that the birds act as natural predators of rats and snakes that usually infest farmer’s fields.

Ziro valley in Arunachal Pradesh is the home of the Apatani tribe. The Apatani landscape represents an agro-system collectively practiced by the Apatani tribe. The tribe has the unique paddy-cum-pisciculture, comprising a composite of rice cultivation along with fish culture. The agro-ecosystem of the Apatani provides for the in-situ conservation of sixteen traditional paddy varieties of unique grain characteristics and nutrition value. It is a unique land use system rich in globally significant biological diversity and have traditional heritage associated with them. The agricultural fields are collaboratively governed and managed by the traditional authorities and the Biodiversity Management Committees under the overall supervision of the Zila Parishad Members and the elected representative, the Member of Legislative Assembly. Owing to the rich cultural heritage of the Apatani, the Ziro valley has been included in the tentative list for UNESCO's World Heritage Site under the ‘Cultural’ category.

The term Zabo is derived from the word zabö, which means ‘impounding runoff water’, in the Chokri dialect of Nagaland. Even though the Kikruma region received enough rainfall, water scarcity persisted due to surface runoff. This stimulated the communities to develop an elaborate water harvesting arrangement called Zabo. This system has an inbuilt water harvesting and recycling systems with well-founded conservation base to control soil erosion and maintain soil fertility. It is practiced as a solution to water scarcity happening due to surface run-off. It is managed by the Village Development Board (VDB) instituted by the community members. Land with Zabo cultivation system is owned by individual landowners and the VDB.

The Saffron Heritage System is a traditional family farming system in four districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Pampore has earned the title of Kashmir’s “saffron town” for growing the best quality saffron. Saffron is a cash crop and cultivated primarily in the Pampore district of the Kashmir valley, where about 3000 acres of land is under saffron cultivation. The farmers do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. It continues to inspire family farmers and local communities through livelihood security for more than 17,000 farm families. It is owned and managed by the individual farmers and governed by the ‘All J&K Saffron Growers Development Marketing Cooperative Association’ constituted by the farmers. Women are irreplaceable part of the saffron story and play an integral role right from tilling the soil, to picking and gently drying the flowers. Owing to its cultural and traditional importance, the Saffron Heritage site was designated as a Globally Important Agriculturally Heritage System (GIAHS) in 2011.

Initially owned by the British East India Company, and managed as tea estates, the Gadoli and Manda Khal Fee Simple Estates were sold to Reverend Chowfin in the early 20th century. Even today this property is owned, governed and managed by the Chowfin family. They have stopped unauthorised non-forest activities such as deforestation, construction, etc. There is active patrolling and monitoring of the forests to prevent illegal grazing and forest fires. The forest watershed has been put under strict protection to ensure groundwater recharge and improve soil moisture in the forests of Gadoli and Manda Khal, thereby aiding in preventing fire incidences. On-site sustainable farming of traditional crop varieties has been encouraged by promoting traditional hill farming methods. A community forest nursery has been set up to restore destroyed and degraded forests, with a focus on native forest trees, grasses and fodder species. The forests and their micro-catchments, from which eight Himalayan freshwater springs originate, are an important part of the micro-watershed of the Nayyar river- a major river system of the Pauri Garhwal. These eight perennial springs provide clean water for drinking and agriculture to local villages. 2016 – 2019 study identified 61 avian species from 29 families, including Schedule I species such as cheer pheasant and IUCN vulnerable species such as the Indian spotted eagle.

It is a private forest, adjacent to Mussoorie, spread across 0.44 km2. Owned by Vipul Jain, an entrepreneur, it has been with his family for over 90 years. It comprises mixed forest, typical of the middle Himalayas. Until 2012, trees in the Jabarkhet forest area were being lopped, felled and illegal logging and hunting activities were prevalent. However, Sejal Worah, a conservationist and programme director with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), along with Vipul Jain, initiated the institution of a Reserve in the private forest area, intending to protect and restore the forest and its wildlife while also creating local livelihoods through eco-tourism and promoting conservation awareness. Thus, the reserve was established in 2015 to protect and restore the private forest from prevalent illegal logging and hunting activities. Ecotourism activities as well as from membership programmes for institutions and interested individuals provide economic benefits for the upkeep of the area. It acts as a corridor connecting various forest patches along the rivers originating in the middle Himalayas. Three waterholes have been developed to augment the water supply for wildlife. 800 kgs of waste removed. Local community members have been trained and are involved in management and monitoring activities.

Anandwan biodiversity park is located in Anandwan, a cooperative village in the drylands of north-eastern Maharashtra. It is owned by Maharogi Sewa Samiti (MSS), a non-profit organisation that empowers socially disadvantaged groups of people to enhance their livelihoods through self-discovery and their ability to contribute to society. Anandwan biodiversity park was established in 2019 with a vision ‘to innovate methods of afforestation to establish a food chain on barren lands through best practises of ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation and indigenous tree conservation using the right mix of methods from Indian and abroad’. Since the park’s creation, MSS has planted 45,300 rare indigenous forest trees of 88 species through innovative afforestation models.

Owned by the erstwhile royal family of Kachchh in Gujarat, Chadva Rakhal is spread over an area of 51.79 km2 , and is governed and managed by the Maharao Pragmulji Nature Conservation Trust. It is a strategic location along the western route of the Central Asian Flyway making it a gateway for migratory birds to enter India. A recent survey of Chadva rakhal identified a total 253 floral and 296 faunal species. Chadva Rakhal has four watersheds; Pragsar lake and three other water bodies that connect other micro watersheds, collecting and retaining run-off water during the rainy season, to provide drinking water through the dry season.