Amongst the new Project Leaders are forest guard Shiv Kumar from the remote Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh who is working towards mitigating conflict between brown bears and the community; young Malhar Indulkar who is working for the conservation of otters in the Tilari river of southern Maharashtra; forest protector Sunil Harsana who is committed to safeguarding the threatened Mangar forest of Haryana; and sea turtle conservationist Rajan Halankar from Goa. In addition, the Mud on Boots Project will continue to extend support to activist Sajal Madhu in Chhattisgarh whose work on the human-elephant conflict crisis in the state is invaluable.
Photo: Malhar Indulkar“Identifying these wildlife warriors would have been impossible without support from Sanctuary's vast and treasured network of wildlife scientists, filmmakers and conservationists. In specific we would like to express our gratitude to Terra Conscious, Dakhshin Foundation, Nityata River Otter Conservancy, Dipani Sutaria, and Munmun Dhalaria for nominating these individuals. The Mud on Boots Project aims to strengthen the foundation of wildlife conservation efforts in the country by supporting community conservation leaders. It is our privilege to work with each of these conservationists and we're looking forward to growing with them over the next two years," said Cara Tejpal, who heads the Mud on Boots Project for Sanctuary.
The Mud on Boots Project is a stream-lined, crowd-funded initiative that runs on donations made by wildlife lovers and supporters across India. Generous contributions from Dia Mirza, Anushka Singh, Geetika Jain, Paul Abraham and the Sujan Group, amongst others, has enabled the project for 2019. The Project is coordinated by Maitreyee Mujumdar and is headquartered at the Sanctuary Nature Foundation office in Mumbai.
Photo: Rajan Halankar
To contribute to this unique initiative, write to cara@sanctuaryasia.com
