Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award 2010

The Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award each year chooses 5 conservationists from across the country through an expert panel led by Mr.Valmik Thapar. This award recognizes individuals who contribute in the field of Tiger conservation.

I was fortunate to be chosen as one of this year's awardees. Union Minister Mr.Salman Khurshid presented the trophy & a prized Zeiss binocular. MoEF Mr.Jairam Ramesh too was present.

The august gathering was glittering with the likes of Dr.Ullas Karanth, Dr.Raghu Chundawat, Mr.P.K.Sen, Mr.Shekar Dattari, Ms.Belinda Wright, Ms.Joanna Van Gruisen and other special guests.

Though my name as an individual has been selected but the achievement belongs to both myself & Suchandra.

For this achievement, we must thank our mentor Mr.Bittu Sahgal for his non-stop energetic influence. We thank the legendary Mr.Fateh Singh Rathore for being our father figure. Dr.Anish Andheria for being a constant teacher, and Mr.P.K.Sen for his inspirational words that have stood by us always.

We must also thank the West Bengal Forest Department for all their support throughout.

Thanks to our friends - Pinaki, Kaushik, Ananda, Dipankar, Kumkum & a battalion of others and above all Chhaya Dutt & Tomtom.

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Times of India news strip

12.04.2010

Conservationist rewarded

He loves the woods and swears by the tiger. Watching the forests through the lens of his camera, he gradually fell in love with them and turned a conservationist. For nearly a decade now, Joydeep Kundu and his wife Suchandra have been tirelessly campaigning in favour of measures to save the endangered animal and its fast dwindling habitat around the country. Travelling far and wide across the sanctuaries, the Sunderbans in particular, the conservationist couple has been urging everyone concerned to take note of the urgent need to come to the aid of the tiger.

Joydeep’s efforts won him the Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi last week. “Even though Kundu doesn’t have formal training, he has an instinctive feel for the jungle and a fierce desire to protect species and habitats,” said the citation.

The desire has grown over the years. Kundu remains a keen wildlife photographer and his photographs are still published in wildlife magazine Sanctuary Asia. But he now takes his role as a conservator more seriously. Last year, Kundu organized a unique march titled “Walk for the Tiger” in the Sunderbans, which saw more than 2 lakh taking part across six islands of the mangrove forest. Kundu has also been a part of the “Bengal Tiger Banchao” campaign run by Sanctuary Asia and Bengal Tiger Line.

“This award will inspire me to keep working for conservation and contribute towards saving the tiger. This is a challenging period for conservationists in India. We need to be on guard all the time,” says the conservationist.

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