Chimmi Dema from Gomphu village still remembers the years when clean water felt like a distant hope. She recalls the slippery footpath that led down to the stream, where villagers collected water that was often muddy and sometimes contaminated. “We had been requesting water for more than 20 years,” she says, standing beside the tap that now sits proudly in front of her home. Today, instead of navigating dangerous trails, Chimmi needs only to descend a few wooden steps to access safe water whenever her family needs it.

For her household and for 12 others, this transformation became possible with the installation of water tanks under the “Conflict to Coexistence (C2C) Strategy for Trong Gewog, Zhemgang, 2025-2030” project. The initiative has brought more than just water. It has restored a sense of security. With WWF Bhutan’s support, the new system now supplies water directly to their fields and orchards, easing daily burdens and strengthening livelihoods. For the first time, farmer Dolo Rinchen says their orange orchard finally promises a reliable source of income.

Balancing the needs of both communities and wildlife in the gewog calls for integrated management and active participation from villagers and relevant agencies. To address escalating human–wildlife conflicts and foster coexistence, WWF-Bhutan, together with the Department of Forest and Parks Services (DoFPS), has introduced the C2C Strategy in Trong gewog as a pilot initiative. The project will help rural communities co-exist with wildlife by boosting financial resilience through agriculture, livestock, and ecotourism, which will also enhance engagement with protected areas._{^{Through C2C, WWF-Bhutan aims to ensure coexistence between wildlife and people through a holistic co-design approach}}

Trong, one of the gewogs under the jurisdiction of the Zhemgang Divisional Forest Office (DFO), Royal Manas National Park, and Jigme Singye Wangchuk National Park, supports a rich diversity of wildlife. As animal populations grow and natural resources shrink, wildlife increasingly move into settlement areas, heightening conflict. Covering 358 square kilometres, the gewog is home to about 380 households and a population of 3,371.

Through C2C, WWF-Bhutan aims to ensure coexistence between wildlife and people through a holistic co-design approach. The objectives include safeguarding people, their livelihoods and assets, and ensuring the presence of wildlife, including securing wildlife and its habitat to sustain a healthy, resilient wildlife population. It is structured around four key outcomes viz. People, Livelihoods/Assets, Wildlife, and Habitat and integrate six interrelated elements of Policy, Prevention, Response, Understanding the Conflict, Mitigation, and Monitoring.

However, installing only a water tank will not prevent conflict because coexistence goes beyond, which addresses multiple needs. This is why the installation of electric fencing, one of the strategies under the same project, has brought a transformation for farmers like Karma and four other households.

Karma, a farmer from Zurphel village, regained hope for cultivation after the DoFPS piloted 933 metres of electric fencing in his village last year. This intervention allowed him to resume farming after years of leaving his paddy fields fallow due to increasing wildlife encroachment.

Karma, 58, emphasising the importance of electric-fencing shared, “It has significantly reduced losses from wildlife such as sambar deer, wild boars, and occasionally tigers.” Karma added that while the fencing lessens reliance on forest resources, fostering coexistence remains vital— coexistence means keeping both crops and wildlife safe.

To safeguard people, their livelihoods, and assets while ensuring wildlife presence, a five-strand electric-fencing, ranging 4.67 kilometres, in Zurphel, Subrang, Tshanglajong, Chabang, and Gomphu villages, covering 46.82 acres of orchards and agricultural fields belonging to 21 households.

Villagers jointly manage fencing maintenance through a shared fund, using recycled plastic posts that reduce environmental impact.

Coexistence supports wildlife conservation through habitat restoration, such as access to water for both humans and wildlife. The improvement of waterholes for wildlife through C2C activities in Trong has also supported this goal and helped revive lost lakes such as Manmatsho and Dabartsho. These waterholes have provided a separate and secure access to water for households, farms, and wildlife, reducing intrusion into farms.

and the supply of native poultry pullets and cardamom saplings. These initiatives are expected to lessen the need for foraging wild mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and other forest products, allowing both humans and wildlife the space they need to thrive without harming one another.

While reviving habitats is crucial, equally important is monitoring and safeguarding endangered species dependent on these ecosystems. Recognising the role of technology in conservation, the project has installed two CCTVs in the protected breeding area of the Golden Masheer (Tor Putitora) near Berti Ecolodge. These cameras help monitor and prevent illegal fishing activities, ensuring the protection of endangered fish species.

These achievements were made possible through the community’s willingness to embrace 

coexistence and shift from reactive conflict management to proactive solutions. For farmers like Chimmi, the results are visible—clean water, safer fields, and orchards that can finally flourish. Through initiatives like C2C, communities are not only learning to live alongside wildlife but also finding ways to thrive.

With 93.89 percent forest coverage, Zhemgang is a biodiversity hotspot, home to species like Royal Bengal tiger, Gee’s golden langur, Himalayan musk deer, red panda, wild dog, white- bellied heron, steppe eagle, and golden mahseer, among others.

However, the strength of C2C lies in its integrated design and collective ownership. Communities are not passive beneficiaries but active partners managing resources, maintaining infrastructure, and embracing coexistence as a shared responsibility. This local stewardship is reinforced by the committee of government, WWF and other duty bearers who hold the mandate and responsibility to safeguard both community livelihoods and national biodiversity.

Their role encompasses coordination, technical guidance, monitoring and sustained investment in HWC management. Together, this shared accountability reflects a broader shift from reacting to incidents of conflict to proactively co-designing and sustaining coexistence through partnership, learning and long-term commitment.

Trong Gewog is both rich in biodiversity and vulnerable to conflict. Through C2C’s integrated, people-centred approach, communities are proving that safeguarding livelihoods and conserving wildlife are not competing goals but shared ones.