Dr.Pramod Patil was recently awarded the
Whitley Award, a prestigious international nature conservation prize worth
£35,000 in project funding, at a ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society,
London, in honour of his work to protect the iconic Great Indian Bustard.
 |
Dr. Pramod Patil receiving the Whitley
Award from Princess Anne at a ceremony in London
Photo by Whitley Awards Team
|
The Whitley award is given to conservationists
from the developing countries to support projects based on science and
community involvement.
The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) once
flourished across the Indian sub-continent but today fewer than 250 individuals
remain in the most densely human-populated desert in the world.
Here he shares why he chose a different path,
his love for the birds and his amazing experiences.
 |
Dr.Patil
speaking at the Whitley Awards function
Photo by Whitley Awards
Team
|
1. Being a medical doctor by education,
how did you turn to wildlife conservation? Was there a defining moment? Tell us
about your personal journey
I was interested in birds as a child and even
participated in a bird watching camp organized by WWF-India, however there was
a gap after that. While studying medicine in Sholapur a friend told me about a
huge Ostrich like bird in the Sholapur grasslands. I was surprised and very
excited. We travelled a long distance to see the bird, but after spending a
long disappointing day, just as we were thinking of going back, all of a sudden
a large bird landed in a grassland ahead of us. To our greatest surprise it was
the stunning Great Indian Bustard! We stood spell bound as it walked a magnificent
walk that Dr.Salim Ali used to call the ‘Marshal’s walk’. It started drizzling
and the bird started a dance display to attract his mate. I fell in love with
the bird, and even today that picture is alive before my eyes. I started
visiting the sanctuary regularly, studying the bird, drawing, talking to local
people, volunteering for a local NGO Nisarg, my journey from a casual birder to
a conservationist began in earnest.
2. How do your family and friends see
your chosen career path?
They see it with lot of curiosity. They are happy
with my chosen path and they support me in my work. There is a fallacy about
‘career’ that people suffer all their life. The fallacy is that if you invest a
large amount of time or money in something you should continue to do it even if
you don’t like it. But I think the important thing is to do what you like and
take the courageous decision to do it.
 |
Dr. Patil (first
from left) in the field with his colleagues
Photo by Siddhesh Surve |
3. Congratulations on winning the
prestigious Whitley award. How did you feel when you heard that you have been
chosen for the ‘Green Oscar’? What does winning this award signify for you and
the work you are doing?
My first feeling was that of the sense of
responsibility that I will now have to fulfill and the pressure of expectations
I will have to face. It was followed by happiness, lots of happiness of course!
This award is significant in several ways. It gives
recognition to your work at the global level. It altogether changes people’s
perspective of yourself and your work. Several institution and people come
forward to support your work.
Second thing, because of such awards you come in
contact with several international institutions and experts working in this
field. You become a part of their network. This is a huge benefit. You get an
understanding of the global level. These great organizations are working
worldwide. Being a part of their network you learn their method of working,
their attitude, their ideology. You understand how to apply global solutions to
local problems.
When you personally meet the stalwarts of your field
it has very deep effect on you. Though I was in contact with them for several
years meeting them in person is exceptional.
Thus this award brings you great support from all
walks of life but also increases your responsibility many folds.
 |
With the legend - Sir
David Attenborough at Whitley Awards Fuction
Photo by Whitley Awards
Team
|
4. How does your medical training help in
the field of conservation?
I have realized that medical education helps
conservation in many ways. Being a doctor people give you lot of respect, they
allow you to enter their lives, they discuss with you many medical and personal
problems. I help them through counseling and proper guidance. Without medical
training it would have been difficult to gain the confidence of the local
people and other stakeholders. My medical education helped me in the most
constructive ways in the efforts of bustard conservation. In medical science we
are taught community medicine, a doctor is community centric by default.
5. How did you decide to work on Great
Indian Bustard?
I had fallen in love with the bird at first sight. I
wanted to know more about it.Dr.Asad Rahmani of the Bombay Natural History
Society (BNHS) warmly opened the BNHS library for me. I
continued interacting with local people, local experts, NGOs, conservationists,
I started working with the forest department, with Mr.Parihar, YLP Rao, NK Rao,
forest guards all of who were very supportive.
One name I would particularly like to mention is that
of Mr.Bhagwat Mhaske, a forest guide at the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary,
Sholapur. He opened the treasure trove of information he had gathered over 30
years of observing the bird’s behavior for me. He was my on-field Guru and I
feel especially blessed to have met him.
Over time, working together with many people, many
institutions helped, we were able to put policies in place for the conservation
of Great Indian Bustard.
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The Great Indian Bustard
photo-Wikipedia |
6. What are the challenges you are facing
while working on the conservation of Great Indian Bustard?
The greatest challenge is the declining support of
the local people. Local people’s involvement in conservation is of utmost
importance but the same is disappearing. They don’t love the bird as much as
they used to. There are several reasons behind this. They have lost confidence
in the system. Winning their trust, getting them involved in conservation is
the biggest challenge before us. Other challenges are loss of habitat and
poaching.
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Creating awareness about conservation among local people
Photo
by Noor Khan
|
7. Can we save the Bustard?
Yes! We can definitely save the bustards. There are
several examples worldwide in which the last 30 or 50 birds or even only a
couple of birds were remaining and they were saved and successfully brought
back from sure extinction. Only one person, one institution or one award cannot
do it. We need joint efforts of all stakeholders. I would say we can certainly
save a species if our willpower is strong enough and our efforts are sincere
enough.
8. Please share with us some of the
memorable experiences you had while working in this field.
I was in the Desert National Park, Rajasthan. Local
people hold a grudge against the Great Indian Bustard as it is perceived to
have stopped their development. One day while we were hanging out we saw a
shepherd grazing his sheep. We deliberately asked him provocative questions
like, “You don’t like Great Indian Bustards and this sanctuary. You would be
happy to remove its sanctuary status, wouldn’t you?”To our surprise he said,
“You are fools, you don’t understand. Thanks to the Godavan, the land is
protected as a sanctuary and since it is protected we are able to graze our
sheep, our sheep are our livelihood. If the status of the sanctuary is removed,
this land will be used for other developmental activities and destroy the land
and our livelihoods”. He loved the ‘Godavan’, bustards are called ‘Godavan’ locally
and he explained how grateful he was to have this land protected by law. This
was the approach we need to work on to get the support of the local people. I
felt elevated after listening to this old, wise shepherd. There
are many such memories with people and wildlife.
9. Your sketches are
superb. How did you develop an interest for this beautiful art?
Drawing was my favourite subject during school. Its
credit goes to my school teacher Kushe sir. Only when I started bird watching I
realized that going into the field, sitting at one place observing birds, that
drawing birds became my hobby. The Great Indian Bustard is a magnificent bird,
it displays in a very prolific manner, its postures are very unique, it is a
very good subject for sketching. That’s how I got involved in this sketching
business. I’ve drawn thousands of sketches of bustards and other grassland birds.
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Sketch
of the Great Indian Bustard by Dr. Pramod Patil
|
10.
What message would you like to give to our readers?
I think people are very important in life. Whatever
little I could achieve is because of different people who guided me, supported
me and helped me at different stages throughout my life. Your true wealth is
the people around you. No matter how many awards you get, how famous you become
you have to live with people. You are going to need them.
First published in The Better India :
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