I recall ending my message for 2020 with the hope that 2021 would be happy and healthy for all. Fate willed otherwise for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. This included nearly 500 families of frontline forest staff and the conservation community who lost their Conservation Hero to the deadly second phase of Covid 19 that ripped across the country. We ourselves lost Ramkumar, a dedicated elephant expert from our team due to the virus.

Rising to the urgent need of these bereaved families, WTI extended its ex-gratia scheme on accident assurance to cover death due to the pandemic. Till date, a sum of INR 100,000 with a framed scroll of honour has reached each claimant family of 181 under WTI’s Conservation Heroes Covid Casualty Fund. We are extremely grateful to all who contributed to this fund and especially to our Ambassador Dia Mirza who stepped forward in her unique way to donate a substantial amount to the cause and mobilise her network to spread the message as well as Azzedine Downes of IFAW who responded instantly to the need.

Although the virus brought much of the world to a halt and while I too had a month of enforced covid rest, conservation action at WTI did not stop even during the worst phase of the spread of the virus, when our field stations were operational and headquarters adapted to the new norm of remote working. Wildlife conservation action cannot function through zoom calls and work from home clauses and we are proud of the fact that we translocated and released three rehabilitated rhinos back to the wild in Assam and six rehabilitated bears back to the wild in Arunachal Pradesh. This was made possible with the support and faith the state forest departments hold in WTI’s domain expertise. Rescues continued in the marine realm too with the fishing community of Gujarat rescuing the 847^th whale shark by cutting fishing nets last week.

In the same year, we celebrated the eagerly awaited gazette notification of Raimona National Park by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, a biodiversity rich area that WTI and partner IFAW have been working for fifteen years to protect. We lauded the pro-active action of the Assam government in burning stockpiles of rhino horns and supported them in the verification process prior to the public burning. Kudos to the Bodoland Territorial Council, our long-term ally in the Greater Manas landscape in motivating more than 300 poachers to surrender their arms in favour of a dignified livelihood. Working closely with communities in the wetlands of Uttar Pradesh has also contributed to an increase in Sarus Cranes in a little known habitat for these endangered birds. Taking a step forward to involve the internet- savvy community of youth, we launched the cyber spotter scheme that has online vigilantes reporting on illegal wildlife trade. A key outcome is year has been the removal of videos promoting illegal wildlife trade by YouTube. In a first, we also conducted a hackathon for solutions on tiger conservation that saw great international participation and winning solutions that will be developed for future action.

Looking back, WTI’s 23^rd year of existence showed us to be resilient and true to our founding principles. We have come a long way, yet there is so much more to protect and conserve. In this humungous journey, I thank our Board of Trustees for their governance and involvement and our team that rises to the challenges and makes the impossible possible despite all odds.

Vivek Menon walking with two of the rehabilitated bears before their release back to the wild.

Photo credit: Amrit Menon-WTI

On an institutional note, we appointed our long serving Chief of Conservation, Dr Rahul Kaul as the CEO. I have held this post for all these 23 years and thought I would retain my role as Founder and Executive Director which would leave me with more time to spend in the field and  also contribute globally with my additional roles as Councillor on IUCN’s Governing Body, Chair of the IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group, Advisor to the President of IFAW, Chair of the Amphibian Survival Alliance and President of the Society of Conservation Biology, Asia.

That’s how we remain, as eternal optimists. Wish you all a happy, healthy 2022.