Five people from different parts of India given Sanctuary Asia awards
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Wildlife Protection Society of India|Richard D Souza|edition|Belinda Wright|Ashvin Trivedi
MUMBAI: A farmer turned environmentalist from Waynad, Kerala, a forest
officer cum social reformer at Pench tiger reserve, from Maharashtra, a
cowherd from Assam who turned a sand island into a flourishing green
belt with numerous animals, a principal forest officer who protects
tigers in Goa, were among the people awarded the Sanctuary Asia Wildlife
awards for this year. Working in remote parts of the country, these
people made significant difference towards preserving nature.
Jadhav Payeng spent 33 years turning a sand island into a 1,360 acres
of dense forest. Payeng (54) is known as the Forest man of Assam. He
created the forest by spending most of his money on plants and saplings.
The stretch of forest now has seven rhinos, 150 elephants, three
tigers, more than a 1,000 deer.
"There is no government help, no help from state department either. But work has to go on," Payeng told TOI in Mumbai at the award function. Relocation of villagers to claim forest land for animals has been a challenging task, particularly because both need help and protection.
Among the awardees was, Srinivasa Reddy, a forest officer at Pench tiger reserve, networked with local communities to ensure proper and successful relocation of Amona, Nagartas and Barukheda villages from Melghat tiger reserve while he was working there. He met with similar success at Navegaon national park. N. Badusha, a farmer turned wildlife defender at Waynad wildlife sanctuary also helped with the voluntary re-location of 50 families from the forest area. He has been battling against illegal sandalwood trade, commercial plantations on forest lands and trapping of wild elephants.
"There is no government help, no help from state department either. But work has to go on," Payeng told TOI in Mumbai at the award function. Relocation of villagers to claim forest land for animals has been a challenging task, particularly because both need help and protection.
Among the awardees was, Srinivasa Reddy, a forest officer at Pench tiger reserve, networked with local communities to ensure proper and successful relocation of Amona, Nagartas and Barukheda villages from Melghat tiger reserve while he was working there. He met with similar success at Navegaon national park. N. Badusha, a farmer turned wildlife defender at Waynad wildlife sanctuary also helped with the voluntary re-location of 50 families from the forest area. He has been battling against illegal sandalwood trade, commercial plantations on forest lands and trapping of wild elephants.
Among other awardees were forest officer Dhanesh Kumar from Kerala who
has been protecting Nalliampathy Hills forest from smugglers and
poachers; Richard D'Souza, a principle chief conservator of forests in
Goa who spent a lifetime helping in preservation of endangered animals
in all the places he worked in.
The awards also felicitated young environmentalists. Cara Tejpal, who is working with the Gerry Martin project which looks at reducing the incidence of snakebites and who had also worked with Panthera, mountain cleaners, and Andaman and Nicobar Environment team. Roheet Karoo (25) from Umred, has dedicated 10 years working in Umred-Karhandla and getting it recognition as a wildlife sanctuary. Lifetime achievement award was given to Belinda Wright, the founder of Wildlife Protection Society of India.
The photography contest was won by Suhir Shivaram, Vinayak Parmar, Ashvin Trivedi and Shyam Ghate.
The awards also felicitated young environmentalists. Cara Tejpal, who is working with the Gerry Martin project which looks at reducing the incidence of snakebites and who had also worked with Panthera, mountain cleaners, and Andaman and Nicobar Environment team. Roheet Karoo (25) from Umred, has dedicated 10 years working in Umred-Karhandla and getting it recognition as a wildlife sanctuary. Lifetime achievement award was given to Belinda Wright, the founder of Wildlife Protection Society of India.
The photography contest was won by Suhir Shivaram, Vinayak Parmar, Ashvin Trivedi and Shyam Ghate.
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