CURRICULUM VITAE OF  WILDLIFE SOCIETY OF ORISSA

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            Mr. Biswajit Mohanty aged about 43 years is the secretary of the Society. He has been actively engaged in wildlife conservation activities in the state of Orissa since 1994 when the Wildlife Society of Orissa was formed. He is involved in the following program areas concerning wildlife conservation in the state of Orissa:

1.            Collection of intelligence and setting up of raid and seizure operations in the state in collaboration with the state forest department, the  customs department and the police. He has successfully set up the data bank regarding illegal trade in wild tiger, leopard body parts in the state and mounted several successful seizure operations in the state.

2.            Lobbying with the state government for tiger and wildlife protection in the state by regular interaction with the decisions makers and media publicity.

3.            Adopting legal action for protection of sanctuaries and wildlife of the state through filing of public interest litigation (PIL ), intervention petitions in prosecution of offenders of wildlife crimes, etc.

4.            Some notable achievements through the PILs are : 

• Obtained a stay on issue of timber transit permits throughout the state in Decemer,2000 from the Orissa High Court which enabled the saving of thousands  of acres of dense forests which were being cut by the timber mafia on plea of being private forests. Thousands of truck loads of timber used to be cut from such private forests.  This case was personally argued by him.
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• Fought the powerful sawmill lobby by filing a case against illegal operation of sawmills though situated within 10 kms of the forest boundary in the state of Orissa. The case is still being fought in the Supreme Court but the court has closed down nearly 30 sawmills in Orissa due to this case filed in 2002.
• Filed another case against the Vedanta Alumina project in the Kalahandi district which was coming up in tribal areas violating forest and environmental laws. The project would have opened up a mine in a hill which was the source of two main rivers of south Orissa. These rivers would have disappeared causing water crisis for lakhs of people who depend upon them for their drinking and irrigation needs.  Pointed out how permission was illegally obtained on the false presentation that no forest land was involved when actually forest land was involved. The company had evicted hundreds of tribals form their ancestral lands illegally by force.  The case is being heard by the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court. The CEC has filed its report in the Supreme Court recommending that the project for mining should not be allowed.    

• Demanded an enquiry into the  reported serving of protected species of migratory birds at a high society club in Bhubaneswar taking head on several powerful bureaucrats and influential people . The birds were obtained from the Chilika lake.  A national outcry broke over this issue and ultimately, the govt. ordered an enquiry ( which ofcourse could no establish anything ). Mr. Mohanty was banned from entering the club though he was entitled to use the facilities.  The ban still continues. However, the most  important impact was that the poaching in Chilika registered a decline in 2003-04 and 2004-05 since the govt. took strong steps by keeping many watchers and patrol staff to protect the birds in the lake. Further, the office of the Chilika DFO was shifted in 2004 from Bhubaneswar (80 kms away from the lake) to the shores of the lake .

• The state forest and police could make the biggest ever seizure of wildlife products in Orissa in 1996 near Khurda after he provided information and acted as a decoy buyer. 21 leopard skins were seized from one trader here.

Positions Held :

1.      State Co-ordinator for Orissa for Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN).

2.      Project Co-ordinator of Operation Kachhapa, a sea turtle conservation program .

Awards / Citations  received :

1.                  Certificate  of Appreciation from PETA ( People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) ,USA  for exceptional work in the diligent pursuit of an end to illegal transport and cruel slaughter in India .

2.  Awarded the Wildlife Service Award for 2001 by Sanctuary Asia-ABN Amro Bank          for wildlife conservation in India.

3.  Under his leadership, the Wildlife Society of Orissa got the Ford Conservation and  Environment Grant,2001 in recognition of valuable contribution towards environmental protection and conservation.

Attended as Resource Person in following Workshops/Training programs:

1.                  Visiting lecturer  on “Environmental jurisprudence”  at All - India  Training Workshops conducted by the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration , Bhubaneswar for senior judicial , forest and  police officials . 

2.   Presentation on “Sea turtle protection in Orissa coast ” at  National Workshop on Sea Turtles held on April,2001 by UNDP-GOI Sea Turtle Project at Bhubaneswar.

      3.   Delivered lecture on “NGO initiatives on sea turtle protection in Orissa” at  National  Training workshop for frontline staff engaged in sea turtle protection   held by UNDP-GOI sea turtle project at Chilika lake in June,2002.

International Programs attended :

            Invited in August,2002 as an international visitor by the State Department  of the US Government  for a 3 week long education and exposure program on “Global Environmental Issues”.  Attended countrywide programs at 6 US cities, met both governmental and non-governmental organizations engaged in environmental protection and management and learnt about best practices and methods for environmental and wildlife management.

 Academic Qualifications :

     Mr. Biswajit Mohanty has done his graduation in Commerce with honours from    Ravenshaw College,Cuttack. He has qualified as a Chartered Accountant . He is also a law graduate and has knowledge of the wildlife and environmental  laws.   

Existing Funding Sources:

Various international foundations  for specific field projects for conservation, surveys and education programs. 

Requirement:

1.      Funding for general support to forest guards for medicine, legal support, equipment like generators,etc  (about $ 5,000 a year )

2.      Funding for legal cases since all cases are now being fought with personal funds as there is no funding for legal matters. ($ 3,000 per year )

3.      Institutional capacity building ( about $ 5,000 a year ) for general operating expenses for head office staff, office equipment, general overhead expenses,etc.  

 Contact Address :Wildlife Society of Orissa, "Shantikunj",Link Road,Cuttack - 753 012 , Orissa, INDIA Telephones : + 91- 671- 2311513 ; Fax : +91- 671- 2329410                                      

Email- biswajit_m@vsnl.com, / kachhapa@gmail.com