Wildlife Service Award 2024: Dr. Naveen Pandey & Dr. Devesh Gadhavi

Описание: Dr Devesh Gadhavi and Dr Naveen Pandey, recipients of the 2024 Sanctuary Wildlife Service Award, are two of India’s most dedicated conservationists, united by their lifelong commitment to wildlife, habitat and community-based action.

Dr Devesh Gadhavi, a GIB defender, wildlife lover and committed conservationist, has spent over 15 years protecting India’s most threatened birds and grassland habitats. As Deputy Director at The Corbett Foundation, he leads conservation efforts for the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. His field surveys were key in identifying habitats outside protected forests and revealing the urgency of halting habitat loss, the primary threat to GIB survival. Since 2021, he has served on Supreme Court committees tasked with balancing conservation and development, and earlier served three terms on the Gujarat State Wildlife Advisory Board. “I hope to see a flock of 50 Great Indian Bustards in my lifetime,” he says. “The fate of the GIB, other grassland birds and grasslands is up to us.”

Dr Naveen Pandey, a veterinarian, community-based conservationist and disease ecologist, has spent over two decades in the field. From stitching a chinkara injured in a road accident in Kutchh to caring for an elephant calf after surgery in Bandhavgarh, he is recognised as one of India’s foremost wildlife surgeons. His conservation journey began in Chittaranjan, West Bengal, and later took root during a decade-long tenure with The Corbett Foundation in Kaziranga. His work with fringe communities has strengthened links between human, livestock and wildlife health, directly contributing to a more secure Kaziranga landscape. “You don’t need to ‘try’ to be a conservationist. Being a conservationist is a way of life. Your every act should take you in that direction,” he says.

Sanctuary honours Dr Gadhavi and Dr Pandey for their tireless, strategic and compassionate efforts to protect India’s wild heritage and those who share space with it.
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