AERF signs a conservation agreement with a group of farmers from Ratnagiri district for long term conservation of 200 acres of private forests in last week of December 2012.

AERF in collaboration with Save the Western Ghats Group organized a meeting- Practitioners' conclave to celebrate 25 Years of Save the Western Ghats' March in Mahabaleshwar in first week of December 2012. The meeting was attended by more than 350 participants from 5 states of Western Ghats.

AERF becomes member of International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), Japan. This is in recognition of AERF's decade long work on saving sacred groves from North Western Ghats

AERF signs Memorandum of Understanding( MOU) with Endowment Fund for Biodiversity(FDB) based at Paris, France to promote the campaign- SaveYourLogo for effectively engaging private sector companies in biodiversity conservation in India

Jayant Sarnaik, Deputy Director, AERF made a presentation on – Biodiversity assessment as a critical decision support tool for eco-regional development in the North Western Ghats at Sub-Global Assessment (SGA) network's annual meeting held at Stellenbosch, South Africa in last week of November 2012

AERF made its presence felt at Conference of Parties(COP-11)' meeting on biodiversity at Hyderabad in October 2012 in various ways. AERF showcased its work on sacred groves conservation in the Western Ghats through exhibition of posters, while AERF's director Dr.Archana Godbole made intervention on the first day of the COP.

Pierre Carret, advisor to executive director- CEPF visited AERF's project sites from North Western Ghats in second week of October 2012 for understanding the progress made in the initiatives supported by CEPF in this region.

Mr. Jayant Sarnaik – Deputy Director-AERF attended the International Conference – Business meets Biodiversity held at Rabobank Headquarters in Utrecht, Netherlands in June 2012.

AERF in collaboration with Shramik Sahayog , Chiplun conducted a capacity building session in Village Talsar near Chiplun, North Western Ghats for local community on approaches for sustainable forest management and private forest conservation on World Environment Day - 5^th June 2012

Jayant Sarnaik, Deputy Director , AERF makes a presentation at Knowledge cafe on Bio-energy and sustainability at the IUCN World conservation congress in Jeju, South Korea

AERF through support from Conservation Leadership Program, USA signed conservation agreements with group of farmers from village Nigdale and Kondhwal for protection of 100 acres of private forest in Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in April 2012. This is the first of its kind of an effort in India where communities residing in Protected Area have committed to long term conservation of biodiversity.

Nature based tourism facility set up in village Nigdale in Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary by AERF team supported by Kate Stoke Memorial Trust , UK gets its first batch of visitors. Noted Environmentalist- Mr.Kiran Purandare with a group of 15 nature lovers from Pune visited this place and appreciated the initiative in April 2012.

The German consulate , Mumbai supported AERF's initiative – Creating islands of clean energy - Solar Energy for off-grid hamlets in the Western Ghats. Total 100 households from three hamlets from Raigad district benefitted from this project.

AERF deputy director, Jayant Sarnaik attended the 5^th IUCN Asia Regional Conservation Forum meeting organised by IUCN in Incheon, South Korea in October 2011. The meeting provided important opportunity to share experiences and network with like minded organisations and individuals working for conservation from Asian countries.

AERF conducted guide training sessions in the first week of November 2011 for the unemployed youth from Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary (BWLS) at Bhimashankar. Renowned naturalist and bird expert Mr. Kiran Purandare facilitated these sessions. The forest department provided the necessary support for smooth conduct of this training.

Prof. Mark Lethbridge from Flinders University, Australia visited AERF for discussing opportunities for collaborative projects and initiating student exchange program in second week of November 2011. AERF signed a MOU with the Flinders University for conducting joint research projects in the Western Ghats.

AERF in collaboration with Shramik Sahayog, Chiplun signed a conservation agreement with community members from village Talsar located in buffer zone of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Chiplun block for long term protection of 20 acres of private forests in third week of November 2011.

Mr.Jayant Sarnaik, Deputy Director AERF made a poster presentation at the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) - recognized as the most important international meeting for conservation professionals and students held at Auckland, New Zealand from 5-9 December 2011.

AERF signs a conservation agreement for a period of 10 years with marginal farmers' community from village Katavali in Sangameshwar block, Ratnagiri district for ensuring long term protection of 43 acres of private forests in the month of December 2011.

Dr. Rahul Mungikar and Abhijeet Kulkarni of AERF conducted training in field ecology for post graduate students of forestry from Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli in first of week of Jan 2012 at AERF's field station in Ratnagiri.

Mr. Sebastian Pole and Ben Heron of Pukka Herbs, UK visited AERF sites in the Western Ghats to understand the potential for FairWild certification project in the second week of Jan 2012. AERF signed a MOU with Pukka Herbs for establishing a sustainable supply chain of selected wild medicinal plants from the Western Ghats.

Dr. Archana Godbole –Director, AERF attended the Asia Convening Workshop of the Indigenous Partnership at Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines from 25 to 28 January 2012.The workshop focused on role of agro-biodiversity in food sovereignty and security of indigenous communities from South and South East Asia. Dr. Godbole made a presentation on AERF's work on traditional agricultural practices from North Western Ghats

AERF through support from Kate Stokes Memorial Trust, UK and Conservation Leadership Programme USA published the first field guide for Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary (BWLS) in February 2012. BWLS is an Important Bird Area (IBA) and also a very popular tourist destination.

AERF team with support from Conservation Leadership Programme , USA set up a stall to facilitate the sale of souvenirs as income generation activity for the tribal unemployed youth on the day of Mahashivratri at Bhimashankar.

AERF deputy director Mr.Jayant Sarnaik attended CBD Global Dialogue seminar on –Scaling up Biodiversity finance - held at Quito in Ecuador from 6 - 9^th March 2012 organized by The Resilience and Development Programme (SwedBio) at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm.

AERF organised a meeting of the members of North Western Ghats Conservation Network (NWCN) at Nasik in last week of March 2012. Total 20 representatives of organizations working for conservation in the North Western Ghats participated in this meeting. The meeting helped the participants from Nasik, Jalgaon and Dhule region understand the broader issues concerning the Western Ghats.

Dr.Archana Godbole attended the 2011 Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Partnership Forum held on 24-25 June 2011 at Cape Town, South Africa as NGO Observer. More than 300 participants from 30 different countries participated in this meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss workable strategies for climate change mitigation and financial resources required for implementing those. The meeting was organised jointly by the World Bank, IDB and IFC.

Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) published technical report on "Biodiversity assessment of Asaniye Dabhil Landscape from North Western Ghats, India"in July 2011. This report is based on work carried out by AERF experts' team over the period of last 18 months in 16 villages from Sawantwadi block which included surveys of plants , birds, reptiles, amphibians, perennial streams and importantly supporting local communities in preparing management plans for villages voluntarily accepting Ecologically Sensitive Area status. The entire work was supported by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).

AERF in collaboration with Nisarg Mitra , Kolhapur organised a two day workshop on – Biodiversity conservation in North Western Ghats- opportunities and challenges for Civil Society Organisations working in the Western Ghats region of Maharashtra. The workshop was supported by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund . Held in Pune on 13-14 Sept 2011, it was attended by 60 participants from 10 districts of Western Ghats of Maharashtra that included academicians, environmentalists, activists, civil society representatives, Govt officials, lawyers and practitioners.

AERF is now member of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) -
AERF's commitment towards saving biodiversity rich forests from North Western Ghats has been honoured through organisational membership of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)- a brainchild of President Bill Clinton, President of United States. More importantly, AERF's commitment – Safeguarding Forests and Biodiversity in Western Ghats was selected for 1-on-1 plenary session discussion at CGI's annual meeting held in New York from 19-22 Sept 2011 and was a featured commitment. During the plenary session scheduled on 21st Sept 2011, former US President Bill Clinton felicitated Dr.Archana Godbole –Director, AERF for organisation's decade long work in saving valuable forests from North Western Ghats.

Mr. Jayant Sarnaik attended International training seminar on biofuels in Germany organised by RENAC, Berlin from 11-15th October 2010. Mr. Sarnaik provided his inputs on subject - Status of bio-fuel Industry in India through a presentation.

Dr. Archana Godbole delivered keynote address on the subject- Gandhiji and Conservation in today’s context at a special event organised in Wynad on 13th August in commemoration of completion 75 years after  Mahatma Gandhiji’s first visit to Mathrubhumi. The Mathrubhumi is leading publishing group from Kerala.