Gujarat gets two seats on National Board for Wildlife | Ahmedabad News

Ahmedabad: Gujarat will now have two representatives in the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), the country’s apex advisory body on wildlife conservation, following fresh appointments announced by the Centre.According to a gazette notification issued last week, former principal chief wildlife warden of Gujarat, Dr Chhavi Nath Pandey, has been appointed to the board. A retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, Pandey served the state in several key positions, including principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest force.After retirement, Pandey continued his policy engagement at the national level, serving for nearly six years as chairman of the Environment Appraisal Committee for Industry-1 category projects under the govt of India. He is also associated with academia as Professor of Practice at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IIT-G).The second Gujarat-based member on the board is the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER) in Gandhinagar, a research institution functioning under the state forest department. The organisation has earlier been associated with the wildlife board for nearly a decade.Officials said the appointments strengthen Gujarat’s presence in national wildlife policy discussions. The state previously had representation through noted conservationists such as H S Singh, Bharat Pathak and Lavkumar Khachar.The NBWL plays a crucial role in shaping wildlife policy, reviewing projects near protected areas and advising the government on biodiversity protection. Gujarat’s representation is expected to help highlight issues related to conservation, including the protection of the Asiatic lion under Project Lion.