The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards were constituted to recognise the best-in-the-field of wildlife conservation and to shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes who are defending the wildernesses and thus the food and water security of the Indian subcontinent. The awardees are nominated by Sanctuary Asia readers and supporters from across the country.
This afternoon at three p.m., the ‘awards fever' reached a pitch as the Sanctuary team, along with their radiant awardees, hosted a press meet for the media at the Press Club, Fort, Mumbai. The event was much-anticipated following the year-long flood of nominations that were received from individuals from all walks of life, united in the common goal to conserve, respect, and spread awareness about our quickly vanishing wildernesses.
After much deliberation, the list is out! The winners of the Wildlife Photography Awards 2012 are Sudhir Shivaram (First Prize for his image titled ‘Leopard Slumber'), Vinayak Parmar (Second Prize for his image titled ‘Mirrored Drongo'), Shyam Ghate and Ashvin Trivedi (Joint-Third Prize for their images titled ‘Elephantine Restraint' and ‘A Cloud of Pastors' respectively). Their award winning images were unveiled, accompanied by announcements and a brief description of each by Sanctuary Editor and stalwart conservationist, Bittu Sahgal.
The declaration of the winners of the Wildlife Awards, awaited for months, was also made, along with some exciting announcements. A new award, The Best Tiger State Award 2012, was unveiled, and will be awarded to Maharashtra state at the awards ceremony tomorrow. The winners are wildlife mogul Belinda Wright (Lifetime Achievement Award), N. Badusha, P. Dhanesh Kumar, Richard D'Souza, Jadav Payeng and Srinivasa Reddy (Wildlife Service Awards), Cara Tejpal, Roheet Karoo and Rohan Chakravarty (Young Naturalist Awards), Chandrakant Wakankar (Green Teacher Award), Arti Kulkarni, IBN Lokmat and Deepak Atal, Amalgamted Plantations Pvt. Ltd. (Wind Under the Wings Awards).
The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards 2012 are scheduled to be distributed at the annual awards ceremony conducted at the Tata Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai, on November 30, 2012.
Speaking about the awards, Hemendra Kothari, Chairman, DSP BlackRock said: “DSP BlackRock and I, in my personal capacity, are committed to protecting the tiger, its forests and our wildlife. Through the Wildlife Conservation Trust, we now extend support to over 82 national parks and sanctuaries in 15 states across India. Our purpose is to supplement, not replace our government's wildlife programmes. As a banker, I know the value of assets and in my view, with climate change a reality now, India's rivers, forests, and lakes are the most valuable assets we have. This is why I intend to step up our support for all those who work for wildlife, including our frontline forest staff across India; and the people living around forests, for their health, education and vocational training."
Ravneet Gill, CEO, Deutsche Bank, India said: “Recognising that climate change is a reality, we at Deutsche Bank are working towards ensuring that our own bank operations are zero-carbon globally by the end of 2013. We have launched a biodiversity-climate programme called GreenKarbon in India, together with Sanctuary Asia, to share our climate change purpose and strategy with the public. We congratulate the winners today; we share their belief that the world will have to change in the days ahead and, with our 10,000-strong employee base, we intend to be at the forefront of such positive change."
Bittu Sahgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia added: “There was a time when wildlife and nature conservation was considered an esoteric involvement of a handful of well-meaning people. No longer. In an era of climate change, it is now a survival strategy to adapt to and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. Natural India is the foundation on which our economic edifice sits. Protecting biodiversity is not an option; it's a life-saving imperative."
For media inquiries please contact Valmi Shah Shirdokar on awards@sanctuaryasia.com /9967375090/9920613821.
Source: Sanctuary Asia
