Nature Conservation
My contributions to nature conservation have been largely focussed in promoting the Asian elephant as a flagship for broader biodiversity conservation and promoting co-existence between wildlife and people. My serious initiation into conservation however began with helping design a biosphere reserve which firmly etched the importance of landscape-scale approaches to reconcile biodiversity conservation and sustainable development models.
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve: The UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme aims at conserving biological diversity, reconciling conservation with development, and providing sites for long-term research on these themes. I was a member of the team which carried out field surveys in 1980 for preparing the first report on India's Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats. I again played a key role during 1984-85 in making a re-assessment of the first plan, designating the various zones of the biosphere reserve, preparing maps, and outlining a scientific programme for the NBR which was declared in 1986 and registered with UNESCO in 2000
Colour map prepared from the original by Satish et al 2014
Project Elephant - India: In 1989 the Indian government set up the first task force to prepare an action plan for this flagship conservation project. As a member of this task force my research made a major scientific contribution to this plan. Further, I designed four of the original ten inter-state elephant reserves which were designated and launched in 1992.
An edited, illustrated version of the first task force report (Gajatame) can be downloaded HERE
​The report of the second task force (The Gajah Report) can be downloaded HERE
Asian Elephant Conservation Act of the US Congress: In 1997 I testified in the US Congress to testify in person on legislation relating to the Asian Elephant Conservation Act. The eventual passage of the bill the same year resulted in the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund which has provided millions of dollars of assistance for conservation projects across the range states of the species.
Documents related to the hearings can be found HERE and HERE.
Website of the AECF can be accessed HERE
Karnataka Elephant Task Force: In 2012 the High Court of Karnataka appointed me the Chair of the Elephant Task Force. This committee recommended several new approaches to the conservation of the species. The report of the task force which provides an integrated view of management of the species in the state can be accessed HERE
The final judgement of the court, accepting most of the recommendations can be seen HERE
Poaching and ivory trade: During 1996-97, I initiated and guided a comprehensive investigation on the national and international dimensions of poaching and trade in Asian elephant ivory. This report was used by various governments to argue against any opening of the ivory trade at the CITES CoP in 1997.
The report can be downloaded HERE
Strengthening elephant corridors: The earliest elephant corridors in the country were established from my documentation in southern India beginning in 1985, a task which has since been vigorously followed up by Wildlife Trust of India and Asian Nature Conservation Foundation with which I am closely associated.
The first elephant corridor to be strengthened in the country was the “Kaniyanpura Corridor” in Bandipur National Park (Karnataka state) in the Nilgiri-Mysore-Wyanad Elephant Landscape. Click HERE
Documentation of corridors in India in the publication "Right of Passage" can be downloaded HERE and HERE
Western Ghats Conservation: As a member of the acclaimed Western Ghats Expert Ecology Panel (WGEEP) set up under the Chairmanship of Professor Madhav Gadgil, I made key contributions to the intellectual framework on conserving the entire Western Ghats through regulation and promotion of developmental activities in a phased manner. The 2011 report of the committee can be downloaded HERE
Following the draft declaration of Eco-Sensitive Areas in the Western Ghats based on a second committee's report in 2013, the government set up a third committee in 2023 to examine the representation of various states before final declaration of ESAs. I am a member of this committee whose work is ongoing.