Raj's camel herder unites 20 villages, restores 7,575 hectares of grazing land

Camel herder Sumer Singh Bhati from Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer received the Rangeland Restoration Award 2026 for helping conserve nearly 7,575 hectares of Degrai Mata Oran, a community grazing landscape in the Thar Desert. Bhati united 20 villages and led the "Save Oran Padyatra" to Jaipur against commercial land conversion. Community-led protection revived the landscape, supporting 5,000 families.