Sunderlal Bahuguna
Sunderlal Bahuguna who has spent his whole life working for people and the environment, especially in the Himalayas. He pioneered the Chipko movement, one of the world's first major environmental movements. The name 'Chipko' comes from a word meaning 'embrace'. Village women in Tehri, Uttarkashi and elsewhere hugged trees to prevent forest contractors from cutting them down. This forced the government to ban commercial felling of trees at 1,000 metres or more above sea level. Sunderlal Bahuguna still lives on the banks of the Bhagirathi and is fighting for all that he believes in. He is determined to stop the building of the Tehri dam, which threatens to displace so many people and could be an ecological disaster. He argues that the dam has endangered the hill people and that the waters will submerge the Tehri town and the villages around.

Rajinder Singh
Rajinder Singh started the Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS) to restore the tattered watersheds that once sustained thousands of villagers. The TBS has constructed over 3,000 small water harvesting structures, resurrected the Arvari river and fought a well-armed mining mafia. The Arvari river was part of a dark (no water) zone in government records. Now because of TBS' efforts, the river runs full all year round. The locals have imposed a ban on tree cutting and grazing. In the process, herbivores and tigers have also benefited. Rajinder Singh's work has not only ensured water and food security for the locals but also led to a remarkable forest recovery. The Forest Department that had initially banned Rajinder Singh's entry into the national park now works with the TBS. He has been responsible in creating a better understanding between the villagers and the forest department.

'Billy' Arjan Singh
'Billy' Arjan Singh received the Lifetime Service Award on December 11, 2003 at the Sanctuary Wildlife Awards organised for four years now, with the support of ABN AMRO Bank. A living legend, Arjan Singh is considered by many to be the 'godfather' of the movement to save the Indian tiger. He was one of the first to understand and help people realise the fact that the tiger would never be safe unless its forests were protected. This is why he chose to live in tiger land in the terai forests of Dudhwa, Uttar Pradesh, where he released a hand-reared leopard and a tiger named Tara back into the wild. A reformed hunter, he continues to deeply regret his role in the bloody shikar era of the pre and post Independence days. He was responsible for putting 26 shikar companies out of business in the 1960s! Weight-lifter, former shikari and thorn in the side of all those who would harm the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, he would like to simply be remembered as a man who loved tigers and fought to keep them alive and safe from humans.

Samir Acharya
Samir Acharya is the Founder of the Port Blair based Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology (SANE), which protects the threatened coral reefs and rainforests of the Andaman Archipelago. He has played an important role in drawing attention to the fragile environment and the threatened tribal communities of this spectacular and endangered island ecosystem. A quiet worker, he has helped bring island issues to the notice of the sub-continent that is self-obssessed and tends to regard environmental and tribal issues irrelevant to their lives. SANE was the first-petitioner in a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court to challenge the deforestation in the Andamans and the consequent harm done to local tribal cultures, particularly the Jarawa and the Onge. In response, the Court has issued orders to stop all tree-felling in the A&N islands and clear existing encroachments on forest land. Another path breaking victory was the support from the courts against the introduction of exotic fish into this marine biodiversity wonderland. Samir Acharya continues to wage this battle, often single handedly against all odds, with tenacity and deep committment.

Aaron Savio Lobo
Aaron Savio Lobo is particularly interested in sea snakes. He did a one-year dissertation on the distribution and status of snakes in coastal Goa. He then won a scholarship to do his M.Sc. in Wildlife Science from the Wildlife Institute of India. He also did a six-month study to estimate the diversity and mortality of sea snakes in Goa. He has worked on the ecology of the dog-faced water snake in the Sálim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Goa. He will soon be starting work in the Gulf of Mannar, studying the area's sea snake population and the threats they face.

Rahul Alvares
Rahul Alvares is an author and snake expert. He took a break after completing his 10th standard to work at the Madras Crocodile Bank and Pune's Snake Park, where he learned the basics of snake- handling and identification. This was the subject of his first book, 'Free From School' at the age of 17. Rahul also joined the Turtle Conservation Programme at Morjim. In 2002, he travelled to Thailand to learn how to handle king cobras. He now rescues snakes from human habitations. These incidents resulted in a second book, 'The Call of the Snake' in 2003. He is currently back at school, doing his M.Sc. in ecology and the environment.