Efforts of a number of environmental activists have contributed to environmental conservation and preservation. In Maharashtra, the following three people worked tirelessly to further the goal of environmental conservation and to protect endangered animal species.
(a) Rahibai Popere:
- She was facilitated by the ‘Nari Shakti Award’ by the President of India on 8th March 2018.
- She is popularly known as ‘Beejmata’ (seed mother) for her work in ‘Kalasubai Parisar Biyanee Samvardhan Samiti.’
- She has worked relentlessly to preserve seeds of native cultivars for the future generation.
- The food made with hybrid varieties of food grains and vegetables caused many problems in the human body so thought to preserve native varieties of food grains to overcome the problems.
- She began to cultivate native varieties of food grains and store the seeds of those landraces. She did not confine her efforts to only to her family, but through micro banking groups (bachat gat) she spread this movement into other villages.
- This movement was supported by ‘Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF)’.
- She preserves these seeds in an earthen pot which is covered by the plaster of soil and cow dung in order to save the seeds from ants and insects.
- She has a collection of more than 50 landraces of food grains and 30 landraces of vegetables.
- She is one of the three Indian women selected as ‘Women of the year 2018’ by BBC among 100 women from various countries.
(b) Bhau Katdare:
- Bhau Katdare and his associates worked to save an endangered species of ‘White-breasted Sea Eagle’ through an institute called ‘Sahyadri Nisarg Mitra’.
- He created public awareness to save and conserve this bird by trekking the sea coast of Ratnagiri district.
- The nests of this bird were smuggled out and sold in foreign countries. Due to the efforts of Bhau Katdare and his associate’s Indian swiftlets were included in schedule ‘I’ of the ‘Wildlife Protection Act’ – 1972, which was a remarkable contribution of ‘Sahyadri Nisarg Mitra’.
- Through his institution, he also worked to save Olive Ridley turtles. In the first year, they successfully protected 50 nests and 2734 baby turtles. From these 50 nests were released back into the sea. Hundreds of tourists come every year to watch the ‘Turtle festival’ to watch the occasion of baby turtles returning to sea.
- To accommodate them, facilities of ‘Home Stay’ were developed and the peasants were trained in this.
- Now, they started the protection of the endangered ‘Pangolin’ (anteater / Khavalya Manjar)
(c) Premsagar Mestri:
- Prem Sagar Mestri and his associates are working for the protection of two species of vultures, ‘Long-billed vultures’ and ‘White back vultures’ which are observed in the region around Raigad.
- They are also working for increasing the number of these species of vultures and to make available safe food for them through ‘Society for Eco Endangered Species Conservation and Protection – SEESCAP a nongovernmental organisation.
- The number of vultures is decreasing because of the painkillers given to animals which have proved to be toxic for these scavengers. Besides the dearth of trees with adequate height, scarcity of food, etc., are the causes responsible for the decrease in the vulture population. People working for SEESCAP are successful in saving the vultures of this vicinity.
