Dear Friends,
Over the years, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies (RNP) has committed ~INR 350 Crores ($40 million) to support over 50 organisations across India working on biodiversity conservation and climate resilience. Through this journey, we have learned from communities, ecologists, researchers, practitioners, and storytellers paying close attention to the evolving relationship between people and nature.
One lesson has stayed with us: while environmental change may be accelerating, understanding it still requires patience observation over seasons, listening to communities who have lived with landscapes for generations, and investing in the slow work of building knowledge, trust, and stewardship.
Yet over the last year, we found ourselves asking how we might do more. Our partners reminded us that some of the most valuable knowledge about climate and biodiversity lies outside formal institutions. We saw the importance of supporting early-career practitioners embedded in landscapes and communities. And we were reminded that research helps us understand change, while stories help us connect to it both are needed to build broader public engagement with environmental challenges and solutions.
As we approach World Environment Day, we are excited to share three new initiatives that emerge from these reflections: a Fellowship, a Film Fund, and our film, Nilgiris, coming to your homes!
Together, these reflect our belief that knowledge can take many forms through research, lived experience, careful observation, practice, and storytelling. We hope they bring more visibility, support, and opportunities to those working patiently towards a more resilient future.
Warmly,
Sahana Jose
(for Team RNP)
1. The Samvardhan Biodiversity & Conservation Fellowship
Across India, many young conservation practitioners are doing important work in forests, grasslands, wetlands, coasts, and mountain ecosystems often with limited access to funding, mentorship, and peer networks. Samvardhan seeks to support 10 practitioners through a year-long fellowship that nurtures learning, leadership, and collaboration.
2. The RNP x ALT EFF Environmental Film Fund
Through the Film Fund, we hope to support stories that explore how people coexist with nature in a rapidly changing world. The fund will intentionally look beyond the most familiar wildlife narratives to surface unusual, under-told, and distinctive forms of coexistence that explore unexpected human-nature relationships.
Learn more: Environmental Film Fund
3. Nilgiris - Premiere Announcement
We are delighted that the award-winning documentary, ‘Nilgiris - A Shared Wilderness’, premieres across India on National Geographic Channel India at 9:00 pm IST on June 5, 2026, and streams on JioHotstar as part of World Environment Day celebrations.
Produced by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies & Felis Creations, the documentary takes viewers on an unforgettable journey through the Blue Mountains, the Nilgiris, India’s first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Watch the trailer: Nilgiris