Mumbai: Odisha’s Bivash Pandav has been appointed as the new director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which works in the fields of research and conservation
A professor at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Pandav has been a field biologist and researcher for 30 years.
Passionate about wildlife, he has been awarded for his work in the field of tiger research and conservation. Besides, he is known for treading the untrodden path to find hidden treasures and territories.
Pandav’s biggest feat so far has been the discovery of a mass sea-turtle nesting site near the mouth of the Rushikulya River in Odisha, in 1994, reported Hindustan Times (HT).
His new subject is behavioural ecology, the study of how people and communities compete and cooperate within the constraints of what is naturally available to them. It’s part of what he teaches at WII, HT reported.
Speaking to HT about Mumbai, he said, it has a great community of humans who are environmentally conscious and already aware of the importance of conservation.
The egg-laying and hatching of around 80 Olive Ridley turtles on the city’s Versova beach in 2018 are things that make us look at the positive side despite having lost a few things, he said.”
“I wish for all Mumbai people to develop a deep bond with their trees. Find a space, plant and nurture a tree. That’s how beautiful avenues are born; that’s how a beautiful city becomes even more beautiful,” he told HT.
Pandav is looking forward to unravelling a few secrets of Mumbai. “There are at least a few natural history marvels hidden in every city, ” he said.
