Shekar Dattatri; Wildlife filmmaker and conservationist
Hardliner: Shekar Dattatri is considered one of the finest wildlife filmmakers in India, who turned his back on a thriving and successful career producing wildlife films for international channels. After working with the likes of the BBC, Discovery Channel and National Geographic channel, Dattatri moved away from television about a decade ago. He then chose to work closely with conservation NGOs in the country and make hard-hitting advocacy films on issues pertaining to conservation. His films, Mindless Mining?The Tragedy of Kudremukh and The Killing Fields?Orissa?s Appalling Turtle Crisis, were particularly instrumental in bringing real changes and impact on the ground in the respective regions.
Mission mass movement: A wildlife buff since his pre-teens, Dattatri?s first encounter with the domain happened when he joined the Madras Snake Park as a student-volunteer at the age of 13. By 1987, he was a name to reckon with as his first film, A Cooperative for Snake Catchers, won the National Award that year for Best Scientific Film. He then followed it up with two more consecutive national award winning films. He has also served on the juries of prestigious international wildlife film festivals. Probably his most popular film yet, the 40-minute widely screened Truth About Tigers helped in bridging the gap between the critical issue of tiger conservation and common citizens, creating awareness about steps a common man could take in order to save the big cat from the brink of extinction.
Dattatri is a man who has made real impact on the ground in conservation issues. No wonder, he was for three years a member of the National Board for Wildlife, which is chaired by the Prime Minister. While his term on the Board ended in 2010, this ?barefoot? filmmaker continues to strive for his mission, passion and calling in life. In an earlier interview, Dattatri stated that while the enhanced and new-found interest of the Indian media on wildlife and conservation issues was a ?positive sign?, it needs to translate into real and tangible action on the ground and that conservation has to become a mass movement to have real and definitive impact. His impatience and sense of urgency regarding the issue keeps the fire in his belly burning. Dattatri is also an avid writer. Besides articles in various publications, he has written two children?s books?The Riddle of the Ridley and Lai Lai the Baby Elephant. He is a founder-trustee of Trust for Environmental Education (TREE), and Co-Founder of Naturequest, a forum for environmental education and awareness.
Gerard Martin;Herp afficionado, wildlife rescuer and educator
Snake eyes: A love for reptiles is something that Gerard Martin, widely known as Gerry, seems to have grown up with right from his cradle. At the age of three, when most children are busy with toys, young Gerry was busy making friends with snakes and other reptiles. ?I don?t remember this but my mother and my play school teacher tell me that on a picnic at a snake farm, I entered and sat in the python?s pit. My real recollection of holding a snake was at five and I caught my first snake when I was six years old. Of course, my mother was petrified of this facet of mine,? he says. Aged 36 today, Martin?s contribution to nature education and conservation is already considered exemplary and monumental.
Rescuing the future: It was once the family moved from Ahmedabad to Bangalore that Gerry?s interest in snakes was elevated to the next
level. ?My grandfather lived on a farm. He knew a lot about snakes and it would be at the farm where I would just sit with him and observe snakes in their habitat. I actively started catching snakes at the age of 11 or 12, but mostly to just keep them with me for a little while and then release them back,? he says. Growing up on books by the likes of Jim Corbett, the idea of conservation had taken shape in Gerry?s mind, but he didn?t know what to do with it until he was a little older. ?Conservation as a passion started developing actively when I went to the Madras Crocodile Bank and worked there at the age of 18 or so. There I worked closely with the legendary Romulus Whitaker and learnt much on the job. My heart knew where it belonged,? he tells us. After working for a few years with the National Geographic Channel till 2003, Gerry left TV to pursue his mission of educating people and help urban dwellers connect with wildlife issues far removed from their daily lives.
His brainchild, the Gerry Martin Project, strives to do exactly that. Through this almost three-year-old project, Gerry has been organising field workshops and has been working closely with schools and has been doing a lot of work on the issue of snakebites. For Gerry, a prime mission is to educate and sensitise the urban population about its role in wildlife conservation. ?Unfortunately, a lot of our fraternity speaks only to itself. But I want to take the issues right to the people. Our battles as wildlife conservationists can’t just revolve around protected areas and national parks. It has to be fought in cities as well, as they create extreme pressure on our natural resources and adversely affect urban and small wildlife,? he says.
Sathyabhama Das Biju; Amphibian biologist, researcher and teacher
Frog man: Counted among India?s finest field biologists, SD Biju is quite fittingly called the ?frog man of India?. His work on amphibians of India is considered epic. The 48-year-old Biju has dedicated the past 23 years of his life and work to amphibians and his efforts have already led to the discovery of 100 new species of frogs, a considerable number of which are from the Western Ghats. Such has been the man?s contribution that a frog has been named after him?Polypedates bijui.
Quest for the lost: Biju says his love for frogs goes beyond scientific research and he can?t put a finger on why he loves them; all he knows is that he does. ?I don?t know why or when it happened, but I just like frogs. Amphibians are more than a subject for me, they are a passion,? he says. No wonder then, despite a PhD in botany, his passion for frogs coaxed him to get a second PhD in zoology from the Amphibian Evolution Lab in Brussels. ?I see myself as a naturalist,? he adds. And why do amphibians matter so much to our existence and that of life on this planet? ?Amphibians were the first land animals and have survived through time. They are known as environmental barometers and are essential and critical elements of biodiversity and ecology,? he responds. Currently an associate professor and head of Systematics Lab at the University of Delhi, Biju feels that amphibians are a largely ignored lot when it comes to conservation efforts. ?The mantra that everyone goes by is ?big is beautiful?. It is certainly critical to save the larger animal species, but attention needs to be given to amphibians too. As many as 70% amphibians globally are on the verge of extinction,? he says. His quest now is to rediscover amphibian species given up as ?lost?. He also leads a team in search of the ?lost amphibians of India? and the still unknown amphibians of India.
Rajendra and Pournima Kerkar; Educators, conservationists and social workers
Green teachers: Life can be defined to a great extent by the choices one makes and this husband-wife duo has chosen to spend their entire existence in service of the environment. The tri-junction of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra is their battleground. The Kerkars have delivered over 4,000 talks on the ecology of the larger Goa landscape and have worked relentlessly with conservationists to get the Mhadei and Netravali Wildlife Sanctuaries notified. Rajendra is the state convenor, Goa River Conservation Network; coordinator, Goa Foundation, and a member of several government boards. Pournima is a published poetess and a full-time teacher at a school. ?It has been a great partnership that we have shared together. Pournima just seamlessly joined in my work and we still make a great team,? says Rajendra.
A better tomorrow: Believing that local communities are vital to the protection of wildlife, they have aggregated massive public support against mining and destruction of forests and pollution of rivers and coasts. The Kerkars regularly organise mobile exhibitions across the region to highlight daunting environmental issues that need attention from the local communities. A lot of this is to create awareness among locals that Goa is also a natural habitat for tigers, an issue on which they have been at loggerheads with the state administration. Jointly awarded the Sanctuary Green Teacher Award, they are now focused on environmental damage due to incessant mining, welfare of the tiger in Goa, and the proposed water sharing of Mandovi river between Karnataka and Goa, which Rajendra claims, ?will destroy the natural habitat of ecology of large forest areas as Mandovi is the only perennial river of Goa.?
Tengbat Sangma; Tracker, naturalist and budding field biologist
Frog ?boy?: At just 25 years of age, Tengbet Sangma is counted among the most trusted young Indian naturalists. A field ecologist, this Garo lad from Theobonggre village in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya is one of the three Sanctuary Young Naturalist awardees. Following the footsteps of his mentor, and fellow awardee in the wildlife service category, SD Biju, Sangma swears by amphibians and can seamlessly shoot off names of countless frog species of Meghalaya with utmost ease. He can identify most frogs of north-east India down to the species level with surprising accuracy. It wouldn?t be wrong to call him the frog ?boy? of India. As part of the ?Lost Amphibians of India (LAI)? initiative, his extensive field work is throwing new light and is helping in evaluating the geography and pace of climate change impacts in the country. His work in terms of field research is also contributing considerably to assessment of little known species of amphibians.
Man to watch out for: Sangma is a skilled climber as well, which enables him to access often unsurveyed and otherwise thought as inaccessible areas of the region. He has made a phenomenal start with his work. Otherwise a quiet and reserved individual, Sangma is at his boisterous best only in the wilderness, chasing and living his passion. Gaining respect among his peers, as well as from the larger wildlife conservation fraternity, has truly been a recognition for this young man from a remote part of the country where even cellphone signals are hard to come by. Sangma is only expected to grow from here in terms of expertise and experience and it is hoped by many that he will, in due course of time, emerge as one of the best and most prominent naturalists in the country. A strong foundation has already been put in place.