Photo: Nature In Focus. According to the organisers of the festival, a diverse panel of people was asked to nominate a deserving conservationist for the award. Kalyan Varma, award-winning wildlife photographer and co-founder of NIF said, “ People voted for Bittu for one main reason - he is one of the top conversationists in the country, yet he takes a lot of time to recognise people via the Sanctuary Awards though he himself never gets recognised. We have seen magazines (and commercial ones) start and fold in the last few decades, yet Bittu has managed to run a conservation magazine for over 35 years. Sanctuary has been the voice of the unheard and has been spreading awareness on the issues that define our generation over the decades. Personally, I got my big break when my photograph became Sanctuary's photograph of the year in 2005 and that today I am a full time, professional environment photographer is because of that boost that Sanctuary magazine gave me when I started out."
Co-founder of NIF Rohit Varma echoed these sentiments, adding, “It was our honour to honour Bittu, a legend, who has been fighting the war for the survival of nature, and has been acknowledging and awarding other crusaders. He is an inspiration for all of us and has been a guiding light for lots of people."
Bittu Sahgal started Sanctuary magazine in 1981 at the behest of the legendary, late conservationist Fateh Singh Rathore. Under the umbrella of Sanctuary, he has mentored dozens of conservationists, lead successful environmental protection campaigns, served on innumerable government boards on wildlife, strategised conservation-action plans, and still continues to inspire young (and old) conservationists and naturalists across the world.
