''Sanctuary Asia'' is an Indian nature and

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

magazine founded in 1981 by Bittu Sahgal, its current editor. The magazine expanded in 2015 to become established as a

non-profit foundation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

(Sanctuary Nature Foundation). 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 Ranthambore National Park is a national park in Rajasthan, India, with an area of . It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within the par ...

, urging him to educate the Indian citizen on the importance of wildlife conservation. After receiving support nationwide, a second magazine was launched in 1984 for a younger audience, ''Sanctuary Cub''. In the 1980s, Sanctuary Films produced the television shows ''Project Tiger'' and ''Rakshak''. In the early 1990s, the magazine began to syndicate some of its articles to reach a wider audience. the Sanctuary Photo Library 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. 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.

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 Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

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 A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and national parks across the country.

Contributors

Following is a list of some of ''Sanctuary Asias key contributors (both photographers and writers). *

Bikram Grewal Bikram Grewal is an ornithologist, author, birdwatcher and conservationist from Delhi, India who has written several guides to Indian birds. His father was a senior civil servant in the Indian government. He has been working with governments and p ...

* Peter Jackson * George Archibald * Dr AJT Johnsingh *

Lavkumar Khachar Lavkumar Jiva Khachar or K.S. Lavkumar (24 February 1930 – 2 March 2015) was an ornithologist, nature and wildlife conservationist from India. Biography Khachar was born on 24 February 1930 in the royal family of the former princely state of ...

* Shekar Dattatri * Renee Borges * Fateh Singh Rathore *

Salim Ali Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Sometimes referred to as the "''Birdman of India''", Salim Ali was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across Indi ...

* 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 Madhaviah Krishnan (30 June 1912 – 18 February 1996), better known as M. Krishnan, was a pioneering Indian wildlife photographer, writer and naturalist. Early life M. Krishnan was born in Tirunelveli on 30 June 1912 and was the youngest of e ...

* N A Naseer * Ravi Sankaran * Rishad Naoroji * Valmik Thapar * Belinda Wright * Aishwarya Sridhar

Photography

''Sanctuary Asia'' has been using

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

as a conservation tool since the first issue, through the publication and the annual photography awards. 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."

Awards

The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards are held annually at the end of each year to honour Indian conservationists and naturalists who do exceptional work. The recipients of these ongoing awards later find their work bolstered by many quarters. 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. The Foundation also holds the Wildlife Photography Awards to applaud deserving photographers, drawing thousands of entries from all over Asia. This led to the recent institution of the Sanctuary Wildlife Photography Festival.

References

{{Reflist
1981 establishments in Maharashtra Bi-monthly magazines Environmental magazines Environment of India English-language magazines published in India News magazines published in India Magazines established in 1981 Mass media in Mumbai