Celebrating India’s Biodiversity and conserving ^
PROGRAM GUIDE
in India’s The Crisis
India is home to extraordinary biodiversity. Yet much of it remains unseen
Rapid development, habitat loss, and climate pressures are transforming ecosystems across India. Yet the knowledge needed to protect these landscapes often remains invisible. Critical information never reaches the people who need it most.
Without clear and compelling communication, people remain disconnected from the natural world around them, and conservation efforts struggle to build the public understanding and support needed to succeed.
At Roundglass Sustain, we’re changing this narrative.
India’s Natural World
unseen and misunderstood, or is quietly disappearing.
Train accidents have claimed the lives of over 186 Asian elephants on railway tracks in India between 2009 and 2020.
2020 and 2021.
Himachal Pradesh lost 18% of its snow cover between
High altitude deserts like Spiti are more susceptible to climate change.
A Platform for Change
ROUNDGLASS SUSTAIN is a national platform to document and share India’s biodiversity. Through powerful, award-winning storytelling, our films, photo essays, and written narratives capture ecosystems, species, and the communities working to protect them.
Our online wildlife library makes scientific knowledge accessible, shares storytelling in multiple Indian languages, and highlights community voices. Used widely by the public to understand what is at stake and why it must be protected, the collection is also leveraged by educators, researchers, institutions, and conservation organizations to reach broader audiences.
Why We’re Different
1. CONSERVATION FAILS WHEN IT REMAINS INVISIBLE
We take conservation knowledge and action beyond expert circles and into the public eye.
2. THE FULL LIFECYCLE APPROACH
From training storytellers to producing content and reaching the right audiences, we work across the entire conservation ecosystem.
3. ROOTED IN SCIENCE, AMPLIFIED THROUGH STORY
We translate scientific research into clear, compelling formats that make complex ideas accessible while honoring diverse voices.
2,600+ stories | 100M+ people reached | 300+ partnerships
Meghalaya’s cave shafts, some of the deepest in Asia, host little-known wildlife like the world’s largest blind fish.
Our Approach
Roundglass Sustain turns ecological knowledge into action. We document, build capacity, and expand access so conservation can be understood, supported, and sustained.
DOCUMENTATION AND STORYTELLING
We document ecosystems and turn science into stories that show what is at stake.
CAPACITY BUILDING
We mentor scientists, conservationists, and emerging storytellers to communicate their work effectively.
OUTREACH AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING
We take these stories to wider audiences to drive understanding and action.
Documentation and Storytelling
What is not seen, studied, or recorded is often lost before it can be protected.
Freshwater species have declined by 83% in just 50 years, making documentation more urgent than ever.
Habitat Documentation Visibility Determines Survival
THE CHALLENGE
India harbors 8% of all species on just 2.4% of the earth’s land, making it one of 17 megadiverse countries. As ecosystems face mounting climate pressures, species are disappearing before they are documented, weakening the resilience and balance of entire ecosystems.
OUR APPROACH
Roundglass Sustain documents India’s ecosystems and builds a growing record of biodiversity that informs research, policy, and conservation, creating the collective will needed to protect these critical landscapes before they disappear.
Much of India’s biodiversity lives outside the 5% of land that’s formally protected, including 30% of the country’s tigers and nearly half its lions. Highlighting overlooked habitats like Mumbai’s flamingo mudflats among its high-rises shows that wildlife adapts and thrives in shared landscapes.
Hundreds of migrating flamingos are seen every year in Mumbai.
Science in Action From Insight to Impact
THE CHALLENGE
India’s ecosystems face pressure, yet much of the scientific work needed to understand and protect them remains unseen beyond research circles. When this knowledge does not reach wider audiences, it fails to generate the momentum to address environmental challenges.
OUR APPROACH
Roundglass Sustain spotlights scientists working in the field. By translating research into clear, accessible formats, we connect conservation efforts with the understanding and support needed to drive action.
IMPACT STORY
Saving Bhimanama documents the overlooked Asian giant softshell turtle, a critically endangered species, through biologist Ayushi Jain’s conservation work. The film follows her efforts to build community support in Kerala, revealing how local alert networks now play a key role in reporting turtle sightings and protecting nests.
Hatchlings of the Asian giant softshell turtle being released in Kasargod, Kerala
Capacity Building
Strengthening the capacity to document and protect ecosystems at the local level.
Storytelling workshops help researchers like these herpetologists in Karnataka communicate their knowledge in compelling ways.
Fund a Fellow Building Local Conservation Capacity
THE CHALLENGE
Rural communities and grassroots conservationists are on the front lines of ecological change, witnessing landscapes and species under pressure. Yet those closest to these environments often lack the training and platforms to document and share their knowledge in ways that support conservation.
OUR APPROACH
Roundglass Sustain bridges this gap through intensive fellowships that equip people on the ground with the skills, mentorship, and support to document ecosystems. By investing in people, not just projects, we strengthen the capacity to inform and advance conservation.
Nirmal Verma’s decision to quit engineering for filmmaking once embarrassed his family. That changed when Keeper of the Last Herd received a CineKind Award from the Film Federation of India in 2025. Mentored by Roundglass Sustain, Verma created a film on the conservation of blackbuck and chinkara that has made him a celebrated voice in his village.
The Bishnoi community is deeply committed to protecting the chinkara in Rajasthan.
Short-Film Mentorship Lab Evolving Craft
THE CHALLENGE
Environmental crises are accelerating, yet India lacks structured mentorship to support emerging practitioners in translating field insights into formats that advance conservation.
OUR APPROACH
This weeklong lab equips emerging practitioners with mentorship, skills, and pitching support to turn urgent environmental issues into compelling films.
IMPACT STORY
For years, the Pakshi Mitra of Menar village in Rajasthan have protected their lake as a sanctuary for migratory birds. Their efforts earned global recognition and helped the wetland receive Ramsar status, an international designation for wetlands of global importance. With our mentorship, Darshan Menaria created an animated film that brings this conservation story to life.
The film Story of Menar inspires local youth to protect birds.
Storytelling Workshop
Communicating Science
THE CHALLENGE
Scientists and grassroots practitioners hold vital knowledge of biodiversity but lack the ability to communicate it effectively.
OUR APPROACH
We design workshops that equip scientists and practitioners with the skills to translate their work into clear, accessible formats that support conservation.
IMPACT STORY
Vedang Saikhedkar, a field officer at the Wildlife Trust of India, loved writing stories and poems as a child. After attending a Roundglass Sustain storytelling workshop, he rediscovered that passion and began exploring storytelling as a way to share his conservation work.
The coral ecosystems of the Andaman Islands are part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hot spot.
Outreach and Knowledge Sharing
Expanding our reach through multilingual translations, educational partnerships, and conservation networks.
The monsoon streams of the Western Ghats become a hub of activity for the forest’s residents after a spell of rain.
Impact-Driven Films Communication That Galvanizes Action
THE CHALLENGE
Across many landscapes, rising forest fires, unmanaged waste, and unsafe wildlife interactions are putting ecosystems and communities at risk. Without locally relevant information and engagement, these threats continue to escalate, affecting both biodiversity and livelihoods.
OUR APPROACH
Roundglass Sustain supports issue-based films and outreach that translate conservation knowledge into locally relevant formats. Co-created with communities, these efforts enable people to understand risks, adopt safer practices, and participate in conservation at ground level.
IMPACT STORY
Lost in Our Plates, a film by young Bru storyteller
Rodingliana Apeto, sparked the Save Frogs campaign in Damparengpui. Beginning with reflections on frog hunting, the film grew into a conservation movement. Apeto founded the Dampa Natural Conservation Society, trained volunteers, launched school eco-clubs, and built frog observation huts in forests to support communityled conservation and ecotourism.
Manipur’s Dampa Tiger Reserve faces threats from porous borders, insurgents, and palm oil plantations.
School Outreach Building Early Stewardship
THE CHALLENGE
Children are growing up increasingly disconnected from the natural world. In many schools, environmental education lacks the resources and local context needed to build understanding and long-term stewardship.
OUR APPROACH
Roundglass Sustain integrates conservation knowledge into classrooms through educator tool kits, fact files, and locally relevant content, helping students understand their environment and inspire leadership.
IMPACT STORY
Conservation begins with awareness. Through immersive multimedia resources, we bring the natural world into classrooms, sparking curiosity, empathy, and ecological thinking for students and educators. Our stories are also used by museums, zoos, and public institutions, such as Bannerughatta Biological Park, to engage visitors with India’s biodiversity.
Desert fox pups in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, a saline desert that transforms into a wetland during the monsoon
Leopards often venture out of forests into human-dominated areas, resulting in deaths due to conflict.
Looking Ahead
Our vision is to scale conservation storytelling across India, documenting disappearing habitats, training more local voices, and engaging communities to preserve biodiversity before it’s lost forever.
sustain@roundglass.com roundglasssustain.com