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FEATURE DESTINATION – Journeys With Purpose: Tiger Conservation in India: In Conversation with JWP Managing Director Venetia

In Conversation with Venetia: A Journey Through India’s Tiger Conservation Heartland

Journeys with Purpose Managing Director Venetia recently returned from her first trip to India, where she experienced one of the world’s greatest wildlife recovery stories. Over four transformative weeks, she tracked leopards in Rajasthan, journeyed deep into Madhya Pradesh’s tiger reserves and learned from the conservationists and local communities shaping the future of India’s wild spaces.

This instalment of our In Conversation series follows Venetia into the heart of Central India’s tiger country, where ancient landscapes, rural communities and modern conservation science converge.

Interview with Venetia on Tiger Conservation in India

Where did you go, and what was the purpose of the journey?

We went to Madhya Pradesh in Central India to learn about their tiger conservation project, then up to Rajasthan and finally ending in Goa.

I heard about this amazing project where they relocated thousands of villagers from this area of Central India to create a wildlife corridor for the tigers. They wanted to create a safe space where there would be no human-wildlife conflict. The villagers would be in an area that is safe, and the tigers would then be able to increase their numbers. Over the past few decades, this project has tripled the number of tigers in India, which is amazing. So, I spent some time with the people who were the movers and shakers behind that project. We never do a hosted journey somewhere that we haven’t experienced ourselves first.

Fewer people go down to Madhya Pradesh, but the story there is so amazing. What’s so exciting about it is that it’s a backstage conservation journey. It has a charm to it because you can see they have so much passion for this park and the wildlife. Safaris are highly regulated, and they’re showing guests this unspoiled area, and you’re not staying in super luxurious lodges with beautiful shiny Jeeps, and everything is set up for you.

For example, we’d stop by the side of the road and have coffee, satsumas and fried pastries on the bonnet of the car as our picnic. And we had to be really patient because we’re spotting tigers in the middle of the jungle. The guides are so highly trained to spot these camouflaged animals through all the trees, know what tracks to follow and what to listen to. What they do is mind-blowing. One day, we saw two tigers, two sloth bears mating, monkeys, incredible birds, elephants, deer…and that was because the guide knew what he was doing. He picked up on every little movement of the trees, the different pitches of animal calls. It was a special opportunity to have an insight into a landscape that’s still very raw.

A langur monkey cradling a baby in the middle of the forest in India

A breakfast picnic set beside a forest lake in Madhya Pradesh, India

We also went to a beautiful leopard camp in Rajasthan, Sujan Jawai. I got to see my first leopard, which was an incredible experience. It’s all rock terrain and massive hills, and the leopards hide in the rocks and come out and bask in the sun. That was very special.

I could characterise the rest of my time in Rajasthan with the food. We ate with a local family, and I’ve never had so much fried food in my life! We also spend a lot of time bargaining in local markets. We went from December to January, so it was actually quite cold while we were there. Although it’s such a big country, we had a comfortable car and driver to take us to each destination. We saw India through these wild roads, and that is an experience in itself. You cannot sleep on those roads! But we got to see the countryside and rural communities and just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Two smiling women from the JWP team with young schoolchildren in a rural village in India

Two elderly men in traditional attire stand outside a colorful pink temple in Rajasthan — *Rajasthan’s living culture in full color.*

What were your first impressions?

I immediately noticed the warmth and vibrancy of the people. That was definitely the case all around. People were super hospitable and welcoming. We also had incredible cooks and food.

We all know India is a vibrant country, but there’s such diversity…Mumbai has amazing birds in the heart of the city, Central India has dense jungle, then there are plantations and amazing farmland, then the rocks and desert of the north – so there is an amazing contrast of landscapes and wildlife. It deserves multiple trips, because there is so much to experience.

A detailed close-up of the Taj Mahal in soft light framed by tree branches — *The Taj Mahal, a serene detour in an otherwise wild itinerary.*

What did your itinerary look like?

When you’re exploring such a vast country, your time is so precious to be able to experience it in the best way. Here is my recommendation for a killer first time in India:

Reni Pani Lodge in Satpura National Park is the only lodge in Central India where you can ride horses. We rode through a canyon with an incredible diversity of wildlife, which was so magical. It was early in the morning, the sun was coming up, we were surrounded by wildflowers, and then we stopped and had brunch by the laker. That was a highlight.
Jamtara Jungle Lodge in Pench National Park, which is owned by Amit Sankhala, the grandson of ‘The Tiger Man’ Kailash Sankhala, who launched the conservation project in tiger country. It was luxurious but with a personal feel, giving you that elevated safari experience.
Kana Jungle Lodge is run by an amazing couple called Tarunn and Dimple. It’s a charming spot with that personal touch—you really get a sense of staying with true conservation pioneers. Tarunn is a lifelong naturalist guide and knows the area like the back of his hand, and his wife Dimple, who has been living here with him for close to 30 years, has an incredible knowledge of indigenous medicine. She home-brews delicious teas and remedies, such as ginger tea in the morning and chai in the afternoon, made over an open fire. It felt like we were staying in a home, which was a very cool experience.
Sujan Jawai is a luxury tented camp that pioneered conservation tourism in the Jawai region. The reserve has brought leopard sightings from 20 in 2013 to over 1,000 in 2023. Guests are given field books to note down their sightings, and their ambition is to expand to more areas of land.
Chanoud Garh in Rajasthan is a 300-year-old palace that was in disrepair until three siblings, Swati, Mahiraj and Jairaj, restored it. It has so many heirlooms, engravings and paintings, as well as horoscope-covered scrolls that are hundreds of years old. You get a glimpse into the life of a family that became rulers following the Merta War in 1745.

Amber Fort in Rajasthan viewed from above, with courtyards and visitors below — Amber Fort, where history, architecture and panoramic views meet.

A smiling woman riding a white horse in the rocky terrain of Satpura National Park — Amber Fort, where history, architecture and panoramic views meet.

What did you learn about the conservation work or the people leading it?

Project Tiger is a remarkable success story. In the 1970s, visionary conservationist Kailash Sankhala recognised that India’s national animal, the tiger, was vanishing due to nationwide hunting. He became a campaigner and alerted the Indian government to this, eventually working with the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, to launch the Project Tiger strategy.

This was pioneering—they secured inviolate spaces for tigers to roam freely without threat. The Voluntary Village Relocation Programme was a critical part of this because many core areas of India’s tiger reserves were (and still are) home to human communities. Families were given the choice to relocate, either through direct financial packages or government-supported resettlement. This resulted in less human-wildlife conflict, and the communities were empowered with greater access to development. This is so much more than a simple story of conservation. It’s a complex, evolving conversation about community, wildlife and coexistence.

I had the privilege of seeing where the villages once were and where nature is now rebounding. Tigers can run free, and since the strategy was launched, their numbers in India have more than doubled. Despite huge adversity, this man committed his whole life to this project, and now his grandson owns Jamtara. Watch the documentary ‘Tigerland’ if you’re interested in learning more—it was featured at the Sundance Festival.

Or better yet, if you want to see it for yourself, we can connect you with the ecologists and biologists who created these national parks and tiger and elephant breeding programmes. We’re now in a great position to see these projects.se

Was there a moment that felt especially powerful, moving, or transformative for you or someone else?

Misty sunrise with a vivid red sun reflected over a forested lake in Central India

We arrived at Pench National Park on a very misty New Year’s Day morning. The light was just coming up, we could barely see, and we were wrapped up with hot water bottles. As we drove into the park, we hadn’t seen another soul—it was complete silence. But then we heard this growl…I felt it through my whole body! And there was a male tiger right next to the Jeep. We could only just make him out because it was so foggy, but he stood up and started walking in front of us as if he was leading the way. He kept growling, and that noise is like nothing else. This was super rare to be in that close proximity, within five metres. Even the guide was surprised that this happened. This was within the first half hour of our first day!

Which place, project, or person here would you recommend to someone passionate about conservation?

Spending time at Kanha Jungle Lodge with Tarunn and his wife, Dimple, learn firsthand about the relocation project and recovery of tiger numbers. It’s amazing to visit the former settlements where nature is now rebounding. I’d also recommend spending time with the guide Adam, who is responsible for mapping out the reserve around Sujan Jawai. He spent half a year living in the area before there was any building or infrastructure tracking the leopards for hours and hours. There were only a handful in the first year, but he was able to learn their behaviour patterns and where they spent time. Then he co-created Sujan Jawai to give guests that feeling of being immersed in this landscape without conflicting with the wildlife.

Who do you think this kind of journey is best suited to, and why?

I would recommend this journey to intrepid, curious travellers who seek to engage with the natural world on a deeper level and see one of the greatest big cats in the world.

Closing Thoughts on Venetia’s Conservation Trip in India

Venetia’s journey offers a rare glimpse into a side of India that many travellers overlook: the conservation projects restoring balance between communities and the spectacular wildlife that coexists with them. Beyond the well-trodden Rajasthan loop, those passionate about conservation should look to the dense forests of Madhya Pradesh, Central India’s conservation heartland, where Project Tiger first took root. Here, dedicated ecologists and local communities have worked together to protect India’s national animal, shaping a story of resilience and renewal that continues today.

A peacock perched on a dry branch, glistening in the morning light — *A peacock greets the morning sun.*

Given the country’s vastness and complexity, travelling with experts who can connect you to the right places, people and perspectives makes all the difference. Whether you’re a seasoned conservationist or want to see the country more meaningfully, a deeper India awaits.

Interested in Exploring India’s Wild Places?

Journeys With Purpose offers private, conservation-focused journeys to India, with tailor-made itineraries built around your passions. We also plan hosted journeys—subscribe to our newsletter for updates and inspiration for your next trip.

Issue 121 - June 2025

Currents We Refuse to Follow

I discovered very early on that I didn’t quite fit. It was always there—a quiet but insistent sense of distance between myself and the world around me.

Growing up queer in a world that doesn’t reflect you forces a kind of vision. You graduallty learn to navigate both the hostile currents of society and the not-so-easy-to-tame winds of your own identity. You learn to read the weather—every subtle shift, every sign of an incoming storm. That vigilance sharpens your senses, not only for survival, but for lucidity. And you distance yourself from society, through this questioning gaze.

The model we’re offered—rooted in consumption, domination, and disconnection—feels not only alien, but violent. It flattens difference. It silences complexity. It insists there is no alternative, burying all other paths beneath aggression, fear, or indifference. But queerness is living proof that another direction is always possible, no matter the obstacles.

As I was put aside by societal norms, I grew more attuned to the non-human world—to its ambiguity, its fluidity, its refusal to be boxed in. My path became obvious when diving allowed me to discover the marvels and vulnerability of life underwater.

Today, I study the connectivity of ecosystems, the cetaceans’ distributions and the multifaceted anthropogenic pressures that fracture them. Through simulation tools, we try to understand how other species inhabit our common world. We try to glimpse the shared patterns of survival. And in doing so, we confront the damage our species generates.

Conservation, to me, is not just about protecting species. It’s about acknowledging the vast diversity of modes of existence in our world, and resisting a death-driven logic of extraction and disposability. It’s about rejecting a worldview that sees forests, oceans, and identities as resources to be consumed. It’s about care. It’s about remembering that every life is entangled with others, and that no victory is solitary.

I may not spend as much in the field as I wished I did, but I am part of the resistance—tracing patterns, exploring relationships, challenging the illusion of separation. Whether I am modeling cetacean habitats in the Mediterranean or questioning the narratives of progress we’re sold, the work is the same: to reveal, to connect, to defend.

Being queer and being a conservationist are not separate paths. They are the same longing, the same refusal. The same belief that we are not condemned to drift, that we can steer towards this whole new course.

About the Author

Victor Gauducheau observing the ocean through a telephoto camera lens aboard a research vessel under clear blue skies.

My name is Victor, I’m 30 years old and I’m from France. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been curious about perceptions and reality. I thought I’d become a neuroscientist to explore the human brain. But then I was struck by the harsh realization that we were destroying our planet ever more rapidly and thoughtlessly. So I changed careers afterwards, and found myself drawn to this other realm that we know so little about: marine ecosystems, a whole different reality. So far, I’ve worked on cetacean conservation and exploration, and on the mitigation of anthropogenic pressures, both in the Eastern Caribbean and in the Mediterranean. Although it’s sometimes hard to keep the faith, I do everything in my power to make things happen. My dream job would be helping (diving!) in the field to restore natural habitats while acting to reduce the pressures, both locally and globally.

Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-gauducheau-627a36140/

Issue 121 - June 2025

Recoger “basuritas”, cuidar el agua, habitar el orgullo

Person walking among rocky cliffs near the ocean, wearing a Parley shirt and cap.

Español (versión original)

Las aguas que defendemos no distinguen género, orientación o frontera. Fluyen. Conectan. Sostienen. Aprendí esto no solo estudiando ecosistemas costeros, sino viviéndolo: en el fango de los humedales, en las orillas del río Maipo en acciones colectivas junto a organizaciones, en las olas de la playa de Llolleo, aquí donde alguna vez sentí que por ser distinta, tenía que mimetizarme y otras veces me sentí como esas basuritas que recoge la artista Cecilia Vicuña, esas basuritas que nadie ve. Hoy, esa misma diferencia es mi impulso para proteger, educar y activar.

Trabajo en Parley como encargada de proyectos relacionados con los ríos, dentro de una red internacional que busca frenar el flujo de plásticos hacia los océanos mediante limpiezas, barreras interceptores, ciencia comunitaria y educación. En paralelo, desde mi ciudad natal en la costa central de Chile, junto al equipo local de la Fundación Ojos de Mar, accionamos por la defensa de los humedales costero-urbanos. Promovemos el acceso a la justicia ambiental comunitaria desde una perspectiva ecofeminista a través del artivismo, la educación popular y el empoderamiento de disidencias, mujeres, niñeces y pueblos originarios.

Nacer cerca del Río y el Mar, generó en mí un vínculo profundo con los territorios que me vio crecer y correr. Caminar por el humedal, observar el vuelo de los Pilpilenes (Haematopus palliatus) o el descanso de los coipos, o simplemente escuchar cómo suena el viento entre los juncos, me recuerda que todo esto aún existe. Que aún hay tiempo, que hay vida que vale la pena defender.

English (Author’s Translation)

The waters we defend don’t distinguish gender, orientation, or borders. They flow. They connect. They sustain. I learned this not only by studying coastal ecosystems, but by living it: in the mud of wetlands, on the banks of the Maipo River in collective actions alongside organizations, in the waves of Llolleo beach, here where I once felt that because I was different, I had to blend in, and other times I felt like those little pieces of trash collected by the artist Cecilia Vicuña, those little pieces of trash that no one sees. Today, that same difference is my drive to protect, educate, and activate.

I work at Parley as a project manager related to rivers, part of an international network that seeks to stem the flow of plastics into the oceans through cleanups, interceptor barriers, community science, and education. At the same time, from my hometown on the central coast of Chile, together with the local team of the Ojos de Mar Foundation, we are working to defend coastal-urban wetlands. We promote access to community environmental justice from an ecofeminist perspective through artivism, popular education, and the empowerment of dissidents, women, children, and indigenous peoples.

Being born near the River and the Sea created a deep connection in me with the territories where I grew up and lived. Walking through the wetland, observing the flight of the Pilpilenes (Haematopus palliatus) or the resting of the coypu, or simply listening to the wind blow through the reeds, reminds me that all of this still exists. That there is still time, that there is life worth defending.

Smiling woman in a Parley t-shirt standing on rocky terrain by the sea under a clear blue sky. — *Pride in place: Liliana stands by the ocean, where identity, nature, and activism converge.*

Muchas veces se minimiza el trabajo que hacemos por estar vinculado a residuos, limpiezas y ecosistemas con procesos de eutrofización, como si lo “sucio” no fuera parte de lo esencial. Pero lo es, porque al recoger desechos también levantamos memoria, dignidad y futuros posibles para especies no humanas y comunidades que han sido históricamente olvidadas.

Mi vida y mi activismo se entrelazan como afluentes de un mismo cauce: un río diverso, libre, resistente, proteger la naturaleza también es un acto de amor hacia nosotros mismos. Y porque todas nuestras acciones tienen raíces compartidas: cuidar lo que nos da vida, cuidar lo que somos y a quienes vendrán. Sobre todo en el Sur Global, donde los intereses por destruir lo mejor de nuestros territorios provienen de un entramado global que rara vez nos incluye como protagonistas de la solución.

Este Pride, me enorgullezco de llevar botas llenas de barro, de recoger “Basuritas” y una bandera llena de colores.

The work we do is often minimized because it is linked to waste, cleanup, and ecosystems experiencing eutrophication processes, as if the “dirty” were not part of the essential. But it is, because by collecting waste, we also raise memory, dignity, and possible futures for non-human species and communities that have been historically forgotten.

My life and my activism intertwine like tributaries of the same river: a diverse, free, resilient river. Protecting nature is also an act of love for ourselves. And because all our actions have shared roots: caring for what gives us life, caring for who we are, and for those who will come after us. Especially in the Global South, where the interests in destroying the best of our territories stem from a global framework that rarely includes us as protagonists of the solution.

This Pride, I am proud to wear muddy boots, to pick up “little trash,” and to carry a colorful flag.

Woman smiling at the camera while standing in shallow turquoise waters with sailboats in the background. — *Joy and resistance: Liliana embracing nature and queerness with a full heart.*

Woman pulling trash from a riverbed in an urban setting, with a tall glass building in the background. — From wetlands to cities: Liliana’s cleanup work spans landscapes.

Person holding a dirty glass bottle during a cleanup near a freshwater body. — From wetlands to cities: Liliana’s cleanup work spans landscapes.

Sobre la autora

Liliana Plaza C. activista, docente y gestora de proyectos de ríos del equipo Parley Chile y fundadora de Ong Ojos de Mar, organización comunitaria que defiende los ecosistemas costeros desde San Antonio, Chile. Su trabajo se enfoca en la justicia ecológica con perspectiva de género, el fortalecimiento del tejido socioterritorial a través del artivismo y la promoción de liderazgos disidentes y locales.

About the Author

Liliana Plaza C. is an activist, educator, and river project manager with the Parley Chile team. She is also the founder of Ong Ojos de Mar, a grassroots organization defending coastal ecosystems in San Antonio, Chile. Her work centers around ecological justice with a gender perspective, strengthening social and territorial networks through artivism, and uplifting local and dissident leadership.