The Governor of Punjab & Administrator, Union Territory of Chandigarh, His Excellency Shri V.P. Singh Badnore visited the Wildlife Institute of India on 27th December, 2017. The Hon’ble Governor expressed his pleasure to be at the Institute and recalled his long association with the Institute in working towards the goal of wildlife conservation in general and tiger conservation in particular. The programme of his visit included interaction with the faculty and research staff of the Institute. Presentations were made on four topics comprising ‘Tiger Conservation in India: An Update’ delivered by Dr. Kausik Banerjee; ‘Tiger Conservation in Sariska’ by Dr. Parag Nigam; ‘Conservation of the Great Indian Bustard’ by Dr. Sutirtha Dutta; and ‘Management of Keoladeo National Park: A World Heritage Site’ by Dr. K. Sivakumar. The Hon’ble Governor acknowledged the Institute’s scientific inputs in successfully bringing the tiger back in Sariska and Panna Tiger Reserves. He emphasised the need to connect local communities with conservation and stressed the importance of their support for achieving conservation success. He also highlighted the need for responsible tourism and the need for tourism to provide benefits to local communities while ensuring its regulation and commitment to best practices. The Hon’ble Governor also expressed his willingness to promote the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard by lending his support in involving the Indian Army further in the species conservation in large tracts of land where the Army operates and which also provide habitat to the species.

A souvenir was presented to the Hon’ble Governor by the Director, Dr. V.B. Mathur as a token of gratitude on behalf of the Wildlife Institute of India. Dr. Mathur recalled the dynamic leadership provided by the Hon’ble Governor as Chairman of the Rajasthan State Empowered Committee set up to deal with tiger conservation and wildlife management issues post Sariska debacle.