RBS announces 10th Wildlife Awards

Mumbai/Kolkata, Dec 2 : The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), along with Sanctuary Asia, announced the Earth Heroes 2009 Wednesday.

The awardees were selected from a vast number of nominations received from across the country, including passionate and committed conservationists who have been working at the grassroots level, NGOs, government officials and field staff, lawyers, journalists and academics.

This is the 10th year of Sanctuary-RBS Wildlife Awards, which honour those who have dedicated their lives to India's rich natural heritage, while working tirelessly to safeguard our planet from the worst impacts of climate change.

The Lifetime Service Award is conferred to Brijendra Singh, synonymous with the Corbett Tiger Reserve, for his outstanding contribution to Wildlife Conservation.

Speaking on the occasion, Meera H Sanyal, Country Executive, ABN AMRO India, a subsidiary undertaking of RBS Group said, "Today is a celebration of a 10 year strong partnership between the Sanctuary and RBS teams. For the past 10 years we have recognized and awarded the Earth Heroes of India for their outstanding service to wildlife and the environment.

'As our world is fast discovering, protecting forests and natural ecosystems is an effective way to mitigate the effects of climate change. By protecting a forest we help preserve a natural carbon sink and protect a water harvesting mechanism. In the process we protect our wildlife and rich plant bio diversity that in itself is a national treasure. It is heartening to note that young people are at the forefront of the battle against climate change.'

Bittu Sahgal, Editor of Sanctuary Asia, echoed these sentiments saying: 'Climate change has shifted every goal post in the game. Nature has told us in no uncertain way that economics is subservient to the ecology of the tiny blue marble - Planet Earth - that supports the only life we know of in vast space. Fortunately, every ecosystem in the world is self-repairing.

'The Gardeners of our Eden, the myriad species that make up our biosphere, can repair the damage we have caused, including climate change, provided we prove to allow planetary repair systems to work.'

The award winners include:

The Lifetime Service Award was conferred upon Brijendra Singh, one of India's leading elephant experts, whose name is synonymous with the Corbett Tiger Reserve. Four decades after he began, he continues to patrol the park in the company of forest guards and is currently engaged in expanding the physical area and improving the conditions of work of the staff of all tiger reserves in India.

Five Wildlife Service Awards were presented to environmentalists, who have done significant work in wildlife protection. This year, the Wildlife Service Awards were presented to the following Earth Heroes:

· Jointly to Dr. Divya Mudappa and T.R. Shankar Raman for their exceptional contribution to wildlife biology, particularly in the human-dominated landscapes adjoining Protected Areas in the Western Ghats and who continue to further their mission with the launch of the Nature Conservation Foundation at Mysore and have published several peer reviewed papers in national and international journals.
· Mike Pandey for dedicating his life to the protection of wild nature through the use of cinematography and for his courage and determination in producing films - with or without sponsorships - that have influenced policy and saved endangered species.
· Narhari Pandurang Bagrao who restored degraded forests with the help of villagers and enabled wildlife in the forests of Shahapur, Maharashtra
· Paresh Chandrakant Porab, a forester with the Goa Forest Department who, with his fierce commitment to the Goa forest lands under his control, coupled with courage in the face of vested interests, zealously worked towards his mission to protect the wildlife of India
· To Prabir Kumar Palei, one of Project Tiger's longest-serving foot soldiers, a Forester in the most remote forests of Similipal, for his monumental contribution to the conservation of the Similipal Tiger Reserve for over three decades

The Wind Under the Wings award, this year, honours Vijay Pinjarkar, Special Correspondent, The Times of India, Nagpur, for his incisive investigative stories and dogged pursuit of those who would violate the environmental and conservation laws of the land.

The Young Naturalist Awards are presented to Aamod Zambre, Prosper S. Marak and Vishal Jayant Bhave.
· Aamod Zambre, the passionate 21-year old Zoology student, for his pioneering work in scientific research Arunachal Pradesh's Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary and his indomitable spirit of adventure
· The 24-year old emerging green warrior, Prosper S. Marak for his work to protect the biodiversity rich Garo Hills of Meghalaya, and who continues to inspire young men and women in the state to protect their natural heritage
· Vishal Jayant Bhave, all of 23 years old, discovered as many as 80 new Opisthobranch in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra - a species hitherto unknown in coastal India

This year's joint recipients of The Green Teacher Award are Dr. Marselin R. Almeida and Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah. M. Almeida, two of India's most respected plant specialists. Both have incalculably furthered systematic botany and taxonomy by identified and naming over 350 plant species, apart from the individual plant discoveries they have made.

The Sanctuary-RBS Wildlife Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday (Dec 3) in the Tata Theatre at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai.