Sunday, January 13, 2002		Article

Earth Heroes: Warriors for the wild

Receiving the Sanctuary Asia-ABN Amro Bank Wildlife Awards for 2001, were seven motley men from various protected forests and sanctuaries in India. Described variously as Earth Heroes or Green Warriors for environmental conservation and saving wildlife, they narrated their stories of personal courage. Their heroic fight against poachers and encroachers touched the heart of urban India in the gentlest manner, says Vimla Patil

One of the prize-winning photographs at the Sanctuary Asia-ABN Amro Bank Wildlife Awards 2001 ceremony

THANKFULLY, not all events, even in the highly celebrity-driven city of Mumbai, are organised to just get a good harvest of newspaper and TV publicity. Some, like the recent Sanctuary Asia-ABN Amro Bank Wildlife Awards 2001 function, portray true grit and uphold the undying human spirit. They are so unique that media and audiences alike come on their own to applaud the people who have organised such events together with the people who have been honoured by it. Such events further raise the consciousness of all people about important environmental issues.

The Sanctuary Asia-ABN Amro Bank Wildlife Award 2001 event was organised by Bittu Sahgal, editor-publisher of Sanctuary Asia magazine and wildlife activist and Ramesh Sobti, Executive Vice President and Country Representative of ABN-Amro Bank. Stalwarts like Gerson da Cunha and Valmik Thapar — known for his incomparable passion for wildlife — made the function a memorable one. Thapar’s People Can Make A Difference audio-visual and Sunil Alagh’s Britannia Kids for Tigers Project were other highlights of the function.

Seven intrepid men received the Wildlife Awards for 2001. The men from the forest service-officers and guards and men from government as well as the private or NGO sector, had spotless records of incredible courage and fortitude. Some had been attacked by tigers, bears and other wild animals. Almost all faced constant threats of violence from timber merchants, quarry companies and forest contractors. Some even had altercations with poachers. Many were locked in long, exhausting legal battles or court cases to prevent encroachments and the vandalising of forest resources. Many had worked for conserving water and forest wealth and to save the habitats of tigers, elephants, deer and other endangered species.

Each man had contributed to the war against denudation and rampant poaching and killing of tigers, leopards and elephants for their skins and tusks. However, two men stood out even among the highly motivated group of winners, which included A.M. Annaiah, deputy conservator of forests, Nagahole; Nitin Kakodkar, known as the Tiger of Maharashtra; Gopal Chandra Tanti from the Sunderbans Tiger Sanctuary; Tejvir Singh, field director of the Sariska Tiger Reserve and Biswajit Mohanty, the one-man-army from Orissa, who fights against the timber trade and helps in the conservation of the Olive Ridley Turtles.

The two outstanding Earth Heroes were Qasim Wani, an old, bearded Kashmiri forest guard from Dachigam Sanctuary in Kashmir and 80-year-old S Rangaswami, the teacher from Rishi Valley School who has successfully established the Rishi Valley Institute of Bird Studies and Natural History.

Wani inherited his uncanny knowledge of forests and animals from his forefathers, who were in the service of the Maharajas of Kashmir for planing their hunting expeditions. Wani received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedicated service to save the forest sanctuary and the flora and fauna typical to the Himalayan forest. Wani spoke of his precious moments spent with Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and her two sons in his early years. Wani has expert knowledge of pugmarks and forest scents and can track down animals unfailingly.

Rangaswami on the other hand, was a teacher in the J. Krishnamurthy-established Rishi Valley School in the South. An avid bird watcher, he founded a new institute for bird studies and ornithology at the school. His stories of the heroic behaviour of birds in the face of calamities were stunning.

The recipients’ acceptance speeches were full of quaint information, anecdotes and personal adventures. The audience of hundreds gave a spontaneous standing ovation to all the men and the organisers.