“Hope
is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good
thing ever dies.” – Shawshank Redemption
Oft in the midst of noise and haste, one tends to forget
that there is a battle going on, a quiet, stealthy battle
waged against that which cannot speak in its own defence
– Nature. Irreplaceable ecosystems are being lost,
too many species are going extinct to keep a count,
and others are at the brink of extinction… floods
and droughts have become permanent ‘seasons’
across the globe. And in this face of aridity and hopelessness,
we have Earth Heroes who give silent Nature a voice,
while risking their lives everyday for us. That is what
makes them out of the ordinary. They give us hope for
a better tomorrow. For our children, and our children’s
children… For this, we honour them.
Lifetime Service Award
Romulus Whitaker: American by birth and Indian
at heart, Romulus Earl Whitaker is an inspirational
figure who has made an invaluable contribution to wildlife
research and nature conservation in India. He arrived
as a young boy and did much of his schooling in Kodaikanal
where he developed an affinity for the natural world
by trekking through the forests of the Palni Hills.
He moved back to the U.S. to complete his higher education
and after a short stint with the U.S. Merchant Navy,
joined the Miami Serpentarium where he learned about
venom collection. He returned to India to fulfill his
destiny as a world class herpetologist, founding the
Snake Park in Guindy in Tamil Nadu and then the very
popular Madras Crocodile Bank/Centre for Herpetology
in Mahabalipuram, where crocodiles are bred in captivity
with the objective of releasing them into the wild.
[more]
Wildlife Service Awards
Firoz Ahmed: Firoz Ahmed is a prolific field
biologist whose experience belies his 31 years. Wildlife
conservation is at the centre of his life’s purpose.
He is an Honorary Wildlife Warden in his home state
of Assam. He currently works as a wildlife biologist
and environment educator with Aaranyak, in Assam. Ahmed
has documented the herpetofauna of the Kaziranga National
Park, Orang National Park and a number of community
forests in Nagaland and Meghalaya. He also studied the
endangered Dark-rumped Swift in Meghalaya, Mizoram and
Nagaland. [more]
Praveen Bhargav: Praveen Bhargav, an
accomplished wildlifer, has been at the cutting edge
of strategic conservation and research in Karnataka
since 1979. A passionate advocate for wildlife, he was
born in Gwalior, but has spent most of his life in Bangalore.
He co-founded Wildlife First, a Bangalore-based advocacy
group that helped convince the Supreme Court to wind
up the destructive open-cast mining by the Kudremukh
Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) in the Western Ghats.
This has directly benefitted a number
of endangered species including the endemic lion-tailed
macaque. It has also freed the exquisite Bhadra river
from toxic contaminants routinely released by
mining companies. [more]
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal: He is one of
the country’s few spider experts, a botanist and
field researcher who works with tigers. Employed by
Tiger Watch, an NGO founded by Fateh Singh Rathore in
Ranthambhore, he is internally driven to protect Rajasthan’s
wildlife. His most passionate involvement today is the
setting up of an anti-poaching information network in
Rajasthan. With colleagues, he has been responsible
for several wildlife contraband seizures that have resulted
in the arrest of poachers. A conservationist at heart,
he is now searching for ways to reform and rehabilitate
the families of the dangerous Mogiya tribal poachers.
[more]
The Sundarbans Protection Team: The
largest delta in the world, the Sundarbans is a hostile
land and patrolling it is a Herculean task. But the
Sundarbans Tiger Reserve Protection Team, led by their
Field Director Pradeep Vyas, has displayed creativity,
determination and courage and has brought uncompromising
dedication to the task on hand. Their dream is to see
a day when the tiger and all species that share its
world are truly safe.[more]
Nitin Padmakar Desai: One of India’s
least known, but most effective field-based conservationists,
Nitin Desai is Director, Central India with the Wildlife
Protection Society of India (WPSI). His association
with wildlife issues began in 1987 as a volunteer for
WWF’s nature camps. Disturbed by the impact of
poaching and the wildlife trade between 1998 and 1999,
he worked on a collaborative data gathering project
to clamp down on the illegal wildlife trade.[more]
Green Teacher Award
Nishikant Vasudeo Kale and Prakash Muralidhar Laddha:
They work as a team, and their mission is to
create a veritable army of young Indians who grow up
to respect the Earth. They use the tiger as a symbol
for the protection of all wild plants and animals, with
the Melghat Tiger Reserve and the Satpura region as
their living canvas.Both Prof. Kale and Prakash Laddha
are models that good educationists should try to emulate.
They are successfully passing the green baton on to
generations, even as they fight to protect their vanishing
natural heritage. [more]
Young Naturalist Awards
Bajrang Bishnoi: If this is the face of tomorrow,
India has a great green future. He is one of the principal
members of a flying squad of Bishnois who are prepared
to chase, capture and restrain anyone who dares to poach
animals in the vicinity of their villages in Rajasthan.
Bajrang belongs to a remote tribal community that has
contributed more to wildlife protection than almost
any other urban or rural society in India. The Bishnois
of Rajasthan are best known for their culture of animal
reverence and protection. Young Bajrang Bishnoi follows
the footsteps of his elders for whom the teachings of
Jambaji, or Jambeshwar Bhagavan guide their every living
moment. [more]
Hakabhai Makawana: Young people are
understandably attracted to tigers, lions, elephants
and rhinos. Hakabhai’s life is governed by less
charismatic creatures – vultures. When the Gir
Nature Youth Club and the Flamingo Nature Club approached
the padavalas (labourers who collect coconuts by climbing
trees) of Bhavnagar’s Mahuva District for help
with their “Save the Vulture” campaign,
Hakabhai a young boy responded instantly.He is now an
effective ambassador for vultures, explaining their
ecological role to other padavalas who now protect the
nests they might once have destroyed.[more]
Sameer I. Kehimkar: He is a snake
rescuer who is fast becoming recognised as a crack herpetologist.
Sameer Kehimkar is 23 years old and is happiest in the
company of the kind of creepy-crawlies that other young
persons shun. Snake rescues came naturally to Sameer
from his childhood in Navi Mumbai where people often
called him to help with snakes that had entered homes
and offices. He is already a caecilian and amphibian
expert and has helped conduct surveys in Arunachal Pradesh,
West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[more]
Wind Under The Wings Award
NDTV, Delhi
NDTV is best known for the high standards
it has set for television reporting in the arena of
politics, business, sports and entertainment. Yet, one
NDTV programme has consistently managed to hold its
own in the rough and tumble world of commerce by creating
a loyal viewership numbering millions of Indians, young
and old – Born Wild. .[more]
|
