BANGALORE: The Sanctuary ABN AMRO Wildlife Service Award 2006 has been given to Praveen Bhargav, trustee, Wildlife First and Centre for Wildlife Studies, in recognition of his contribution to the protection of India's natural heritage.

And in particular, his role in the consolidation of Kudremukh, Bhadra and Nagarahole reserve forests of Karnataka. The award has been instituted by ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (India) in partnership with Sanctuary, a leading wildlife magazine, to recognise and reward "Earth Heroes" - men and women who are not afraid to stand up and be counted in the defence of the country's wildlife and environment.

The Sanctuary ABN AMRO Wildlife Service Award 2006 will be conferred on Mr. Bhargav on Friday in Mumbai.

Mr. Bhargav, a wildlife activist, has been in the forefront of science-based conservation and advocacy in Karnataka since 1982.

Inspired by the work of Ullas Karanth and K.M. Chinnappa, he co-founded Wildlife First in 1994, a proactive wildlife advocacy group.

His relentless campaign against iron-ore mining in the Kudremukh National Park led to a landmark Supreme Court judgment on a petition filed by Wildlife First.

Efforts

All mining activities have been stopped in the Kudremukh National Park. His efforts for more than a decade has contributed in consolidating Karnataka's prime tiger habitats Nagarahole National Park and Bhadra Tiger Reserve by developing win-win solutions to resolve man-animal conflicts in a socially just manner.

He has also conducted several anti-poaching training programmes for forest guards, field workshops for presspersons and legal training for forest officers.

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