Samir Kumar Sinha – Head of Conservation

Dr. Samir Kumar Sinha has been associated with Wildlife Trust of India since 2003 and currently holds the position of ‘Head of Conservation’.

His areas of interest are Protected Area Management Planning; Participatory Conservation of Natural Ecosystems; River, Forest, and Grassland Ecosystems; species recovery through ex-situ and in-situ linkage, and landscape governance for nature and biodiversity conservation.

With his broad experience and interest, he has successfully planned, implemented, and monitored conservation action projects in Species Recovery and Protected Area Recovery Projects of WTI. He initiated a few of the successful projects of WTI, such as the Valmiki Tiger Reserve Recovery Project and Gharial Recovery Project in the Gandak River in Bihar, and Sarus and wetland conservation in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Prior to WTI, he worked with Patna University on projects on the Ganga River Pollution Monitoring and Ecology and behavior of Ganges River Dolphins in Bihar.

He was awarded a fellowship under the Netherlands Fellowship Program by Wageningen University, the Netherlands and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia.

In India, with his wide-ranging expertise, he advises the Central and State governments on natural heritage conservation. He was an Expert Member of the National Governing Council, Green India Mission Government of India, and a Member of, Bihar State Board for Wildlife. He has been involved in tiger conservation projects of WTI and being a part of an expert committees constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority to evaluate Tiger reserves in the country he also helped the government in the country’s endeavor of tiger conservation.

He is a Member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) and Species Survival Commission (Crocodile Specialist Group) of the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN).

He writes articles in leading newspapers, periodicals, web publications, and scientific journals on the environment, biodiversity, and wildlife conservation.

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.