Manoj
Kulshreshtha is a trained Plant Breeder and Geneticist and has worked as a
scientist in Rajasthan
Agriculture University
for developing new crop varieties. His interest in wild life could not contain
him there for a very long time to continue same kind of work. While watching
birds he felt that more effort is needed to conserve them by studying the
habitat in which they live and addressing problems to save the habitat. Ornithology
and bird watching was evolving at that time and the study needed more field
workers to collect scientific data and this seemed possible only by training and
involving more people into Network which he did successfully.
Since he worked with major conservation organizations
of India like Bombay Natural History Society, Salim Ali Centre for Conservation
of Natural history( SACON ) and many regional NGO’s for the Book Important Bird Areas priorities and
conservation sites published by Oxford University Press which included identification of important
avian biodiversity areas in Rajasthan some recommendations were suggested for
their candidature in this pioneer document.
He worked as consultant on Wetland
survey of India
carried out for SACON which was jointly funded by United
Nations Development Project and Ministry of Environment and forest in
which he surveyed 48 wetlands in Rajasthan for fishes, turtles, aquatic plants
and birds along with assessment of threats and pollutants to these water
bodies.
While doing all
this he gathered that this is extremely important that school children should
be given some Environmental Education training by taking them out in nature and
giving experience of jungle would have a longer lasting impact on their minds
and when they become responsible citizens they will take up environmental
issues more sensitively .
All this work
eventually led to a dream of a place where wild life is in plenty and
gives opportunity to silently observe and record nature in its best which later culminated in
development of an Eco-lodge called WILD BROOK, at the edge of Rajaji
National Park,
Uttaranchal . This further required to develop a course which has everything
related to study the basics of nature and he named it ‘Jungle Craft’.
Manoj is presently
co-ordinating Indian Bird conservation Network in Rajasthan and also work with
roughly 300 schools in Thar
desert to educate them for Save Bustard Campaign. He has
published many scientific papers and has been contributor of reports submitted
to Ministry of environment and forest, Govt.of India.
He also organized
for four years , an environmental Education workshop every year with Jaipur
Virasat Foundation for their natural Heritage conservation programme in
which 5oo school children and 50 teachers participated each year.
He
addressed issues of environmental conservation through the help of
foreign as well as Indian conservation volunteers by running a Volunteer
Programme. This is helping in creating awareness in sprawling city like
Jaipur which has many conservation issues to address.
He worked as an ecological
consultant to improve the aquatic eco-system of ‘Lake Man
Sagar’ to introduce suitable fish species ferried from nearby lakes and aquatic plants
suiting to its health ,officially with ‘Project Jal Tarang’
His recent
assignment is to improve Delhi Cantonment Area ecologically by
assisting in planting of right species of plants and also arranging for the
designs of nest boxes, developing a nature trail. He is officially working to
make bird walks and enhance the habitat to have more diversity in butterflies
by planting their host species. To do this all he would involve residents
and family members of staff by way of
field visits, regular presentations, slide shows and field walks.
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