Vivek Menon – Founder, Trustee and Executive Director

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Vivek Menon is a wildlife conservationist, environmental commentator, author and photographer with a passion for elephants. He has been part of the founding of five environmental & nature conservation organisations in India. The winner of the 2001 Rufford Award for International Conservation for his work to save the Asian elephant, Menon is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wildlife Trust of India as well as Senior Advisor to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

In India, he plays a role in advising the government on natural heritage conservation as a part of several committees including the Project Elephant Steering Committee, National Wildlife Action Plan Committee, CITES Advisory Committee and the Governing Council of the Central Zoo Authority. He is a member of four State Advisory Boards for Wildlife and an Honorary Wildlife Warden of Delhi. In the interphase between business and Biodiversity, he is the Co-Chair of Leaders for Nature, IUCN and an Advisory Council Member of the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development.

Internationally, he is the Chairperson of the IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group and a member of the Species Survival Commission of the IUCN, on the International Jury of the Future for Nature Awards (Netherlands) and an Advisor of the Marjan Centre of Kings College, London. In the past, he has served as a consultant to the Kenya Wildlife Services and helped establish the first elephant reserve of Myanmar. He has trained wildlife officers of over fifty countries in wildlife crime prevention and has attended CITES meetings for over twenty years as a Technical Advisor to the Indian delegation and as an observer.

He is also the author or editor of ten wildlife books including the recently published Secret Lives of Indian Mammals (for children), the bestselling Indian Mammals: A Field Guide, scores of technical reports and more than 150 articles in various scientific and popular publications.

ABOUT TEAM WTI

What began as a three-member team in a small room in south Delhi in 1998, is today a family of about 150 professionals from diverse backgrounds - conservation biologists, scientists, sociologists, wildlife veterinarians, managers, lawyers, finance experts and communication specialists - but committed to the common cause of wildlife. They are based in any of the 15 field stations in remote parts of the country and a central coordinating office in the national capital region. An Executive Management Team comprising experienced conservationists, scientists and managers provide a visionary leadership to the vibrant and enthusiastic WTI team. The Board of Trustees of WTI comprises stalwarts who bring together a collective experience of many decades in the field of conservation, education and management.