Godbole’s experiment is a small step in an ambitious effort to restore the region’s native grasslands — part of a new conservation agenda in a country better known for tiger-filled forests than open savannas. In Gujarat’s Banni grasslands, pastoralists have helped remove invasives and restored around 7,000 acres of land. A plan to map India’s grasslands “signals an important shift in government thinking about these ecosystems,” says a researcher. “Government attitudes are slowly changing,” says Godbole of the Grasslands Trust. The Grasslands TrustThat philosophy underpins the work of the Grasslands Trust, which partners with local communities as well as the forest department.