Sanctuary Asia

Sanctuary Asia is an Indian nature and wildlife conservation magazine founded in 1981 by Bittu Sahgal, its current editor.[1] The magazine expanded in 2015 to become established as a non-profit foundation (Sanctuary Nature Foundation).

Sanctuary Asia

Editor	Bittu Sahgal
Categories	Wildlife, conservation, ecology
Frequency	Monthly (including editions for young readers)
Year founded	1981
Company	Sanctuary Nature Foundation
Country	India
Based in	Mumbai
Website	www.sanctuaryasia.com

Sanctuary Nature Foundation also publishes other conservation-focused reading material, like coffee table books and national park guides.

History

Editor Bittu Sahgal founded the magazine Sanctuary Asia in 1981 at the suggestion of Fateh Singh Rathore, the Field Director of Ranthambore National Park, urging him to educate the Indian citizen on the importance of wildlife conservation.[2] After receiving support nationwide, a second magazine was launched in 1984 for a younger audience, Sanctuary Cub.[3]

In the 1980s, Sanctuary Films produced the television shows Project Tiger and Rakshak.[4]

In the early 1990s, the magazine began to syndicate some of its articles to reach a wider audience.[5] the Sanctuary Photo Library[6] was founded in 1990.

Since 2000, the organization has run several projects, including the Kids For Tigers programme, which has reached rural and urban children across 500 schools in 20 Indian cities through nature walks, fests and workshops.[7]

It was in 2015 that Sanctuary Asia established Sanctuary Nature Foundation, the nonprofit foundation that now publishes the magazines and several other publications and also leads conservation projects.[8]

Publications

Both Cub and Asia publish six editions a year each.

Sanctuary Asia

Its first edition was published in October 1981. The bi-monthly publication prints stories and photographs by scientists, conservationists, naturalists, photographers, filmmakers and writers. The primary aim of the magazine is to communicate the urgent rationale for environment protection.

Sanctuary Cub

First published in 1984 by its current editor Tara Sahgal, Sanctuary Cub was begun with the belief that a love for the environment and keen interest in conservation needs to be instilled in every child at a young age, encouraging them to get involved hands-on through volunteer programmes, events, nature camps and internships.

Other publications

Aside from the magazines, the foundation publishes various other material, like coffee table books and guidebooks on wildlife sanctuaries and national parks across the country.

Contributors

Following is a list of some of Sanctuary Asia’s key contributors (both photographers and writers).

Bikram Grewal Peter Jackson George Archibald Dr AJT Johnsingh Lavkumar Khachar Shekar Dattatri Renee Borges Fateh Singh Rathore Salim Ali

Dhritiman Mukherjee Prerna Singh Bindra Valmik Thapar Romulus Whitaker Billy Arjan Singh HS Panwar Kailash Sankhala Ullas Karanth Sunderlal Bahuguna

Isaac Kehimkar Kalyan Varma Sandesh Kadur Madhaviah Krishnan N A Naseer Ravi Sankaran Rishad Naoroji Valmik Thapar Belinda Wright Aishwarya Sridhar

Photography

Sanctuary Asia has been using photography as a conservation tool since the first issue, through the publication and the annual photography awards.[9] Editor Bittu Sahgal believes that "wildlife photography is a conservation tool. Images have the power to communicate across language barriers. Sanctuary regards photographers and photography as a critical foundation on which the world's conservation movement has been built."[10]

Awards

The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards are held annually at the end of each year to honour Indian conservationists and naturalists who do exceptional work.[11] The recipients of these ongoing awards later find their work bolstered by many quarters.[12]

As a natural corollary, the Sanctuary Nature Foundation's Mud on Boots programme has been providing small grants to grassroots conservationists in the most remote corners of the country since 2016.[13] The Foundation also holds the Wildlife Photography Awards to applaud deserving photographers, drawing thousands of entries from all over Asia. [14] This led to the recent institution of the Sanctuary Wildlife Photography Festival.

References

1. "Bittu Sahgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia". Balipara Foundation. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
2. "Saving the tiger! 'Don't get angry, get involved,' says Sanctuary Asia founder Bittu Sahgal". Freepressjournal : Latest Indian news,Live updates. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
3. "About". Million Dollar Vegan. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
4. Soundarapandian, M. (2007). Green Productivity In Small And Medium Enterprises (in 2 Vols.). Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 9788180693700.
5. Sanctuary Asia. S. Kumar. 1998.
6. Thapar, Valmik (1 January 1997). Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent. University of California Press. p. 288. ISBN 9780520214705. sanctuary photo library.
7. "Kids in India Come Together to Save Tigers". National Geographic Society Newsroom. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
8. "SANCTUARY NATURE FOUNDATION - Company, directors and contact details | Zauba Corp". www.zaubacorp.com. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
9. Staff, Scroll. "Swooping eagles, duelling cobras and other winners at the Sanctuary Wildlife Photography awards". Scroll.in. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
10. "Wildlife photo contest highlights our shrinking urban wetlands - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
11. "These 5 Environmentalists Just Won Sanctuary Wildlife Awards & You Must Know Them". The Better India. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
12. "18th Sanctuary Wildlife Awards: From saving tigers to teaching wildlife conservation; know these green crusaders". DNA India. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
13. "'Mud on Boots' project launched to support conservationists - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
14. "Sanctuary Wildlife Photography Awards: 9 Stunning Photos That Will Blow Your Mind". The Better India. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2019.