Sanctuary | Cover Story
LEFT: WILDLIFE SERVICE AWARD After serving in the Indian Forestry Services for more than three decades, R. P. Singh has worked through every
tangent of wildlife conservation required to enable the revival of some of India’s most-visited tiger destinations.
RIGHT: WILDLIFE SERVICE AWARD Shashank Dalvi’s interest in birds took him to the forests of Arunachal Pradesh, where he sharpened his skills as a
professional bird guide and participated in bird and herpetofaunal surveys, and has evolved into a stellar naturalist and conservationist.
COURTESY: RAMESH PRATAP SINGHguards to Gond tribals, in the basics
of biodiversity, policy and advocacy.
Her articles on the environment are
regularly featured in publications like
the Economic and Political Weekly, The
Hindu, and DailyO, and she is also a
Consulting Editor (Environment) for The
Wire and a reviewer for Current Science.
Neha Sinha is a force to reckon with
and, in her words, wants to put her
‘gentle fury and absolute persistence’
to good use. We have complete faith
that her indomitable spirit will see her
persevere through the dark stormy
night of India’s environmental crisis. She
is a beacon of hope for all of us.
And for this, we honour her.
Ramesh Pratap Singh,
IFS (Retired)
Field Director, devoted wildlife manager
and staunch protector
Keeping our precious Protected Areas
(PAs) inviolate is an undertaking that
requires the highest level of commitment
and dedication. After serving in the Indian
Forestry Services for more than three
decades, R. P. Singh has worked through
every tangent of wildlife conservation
required to enable the revival of some of
India’s most visited tiger destinations.
Singh began his administrative career
as a Sub-Divisional Offi cer at Maharajpur,
where the buff er zone of Kanha Tiger
Reserve came under his jurisdiction.
From there, he went from strength to
strength, donning many a challenging
hat, including that of Field Director of
Satpura National Park, Field Director of
Kanha Tiger Reserve, and Deputy Director
of Bandhavgarh National Park. After a
lifetime of managing wild habitats, he
retired from the service as the Additional
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest
(Wildlife) and Head of the State Tiger
Strike Force, Madhya Pradesh, in 2017.
His profound understanding of
wildlife conservation, forest management,
administration and law and his sensitivity
to local communities, led to landmark
developments across various Protected
Areas. From voluntary relocations to
wildlife crime control, Singh displayed
exemplary management capability. He
was involved in the fi rst, successful
translocation of the highly endangered
barasingha from Kanha to Bori Sanctuary
in Satpura Tiger Reserve, and methodically
tackled every micro intervention such as
ensuring healthy hard ground sal forests
and swamp generation, which are the
species’ niche requirements.
Through his tenure as CCF and
Field Director of Satpura National Park
between 2011 and 2015, he successfully
orchestrated the voluntary relocation of
a staggering 37 villages from within the
core of the tiger reserve. This helped
alleviate biotic pressure on the park to
a great extent, the strongest testimony
to this being the reappearance of rare
species in the area, such as the smooth
coated otter, Indian grey wolf and
honey badger.
As the head of M. P. Forest
Department‘s State Tiger Strike Force,
he oversaw the arrest of more than
200 wildlife criminals by implementingintense measures to combat poaching
and trade. His valiant eff orts have helped
clamp down several major wildlife crime
syndicates and their illegal operations in
Madhya Pradesh.
R. P. Singh, in the pursuit of the
preservation and protection of his
beloved wilds, has left an indelible mark in
India’s history of forest management and
conservation, inspiring a whole generation
of young offi cers.
And for this, we honour him.Shashank Dalvi
Passionate ornithologist, adventure
lover and unswerving protector
The curiosity that spurred Shashank
Dalvi to wander the forests of the Sanjay
Gandhi National Park alone as a boy, also
won him the guidance of a battalion of
Mumbai’s eminent naturalists. By tailing
these early mentors and absorbing every
odd tidbit of information on the natural
world, Shashank soon evolved into a
stellar naturalist himself.
His interest in birds took him to the
forests of Arunachal Pradesh, where
he sharpened his skills as a professional
bird guide and participated in bird and
herpetofaunal surveys including the
Eaglenest Biodiversity Project (which
involved work on newly-discovered
and re-discovered species of birds
and reptiles).
After a B.Sc. in Zoology from Bhavan’s
College, Mumbai, Dalvi then cemented his
reputation as a naturalist and scientist to
watch out for by enrolling in WCS India
and NCBS’ celebrated M.Sc. in WildlifeROKOHEBI KHOUTSU