Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment

Sandeep Tambe

Sandeep Tambe is Special Secretary in the Department of Rural Management and Development, Government of Sikkim. He has been responsible for the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), for which, today, Sikkim has achieved 85 days of ensured employment, against the national average of 47 days. Sikkim also scores high on the transparency safeguards front, having a universal coverage of independent, quality social audits.

Sandeep Tambe has been actively involved in the revival of springs, streams and lakes in drought prone areas of the state that has contributed rural water security. Before this, during his stint in the Forest Department and The Mountain Institute, Tambe was instrumental in initiating participatory protection of the biodiversity rich protected areas of Sikkim. This initiative, taken up in partnership with eco-development committees and local NGOs, has resulted in a measurable reduction of the threats to forests and wildlife.

Sandeep Tambe is a member of the Indian Forest Service. He graduated from IIT Mumbai, did his MSc from the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (FRI) and has a Ph.D. from the Wildlife Institute of India. He is photography, alpine flowers and trekking enthusiast.

Hemlatha Pradhan

Hemlata Pradhan’s aim is to ‘highlight India’s wild orchids and other plants in nature to bring about an awareness of what we are unwittingly losing…’

Hemlata Pradhan is a botanical illustrator, who comes from a family that has been raising orchids for five generations. She graduated with a diploma in Botanical Illustration with distinction from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, and a Master's degree in Natural History Illustration and Ecological Studies from the Royal College of Art, London. She is the winner of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gold Medal as well as the 18th world Orchid Conference Gold Medal for her paintings of Indian Jewel Orchids and the Indian Wild Orchids. Her works are housed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England and were exhibited at the British Museum's Clore Education Centre in 2009. Her orchid paintings also appear on a set of six postage stamps of Bhutan.

Hemlata Pradhan is passionate about the conservation of endangered orchids and other Indian plants. At present, she is involved in setting up a Natural History Art Institute in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, West Bengal, and getting Natural History Illustration recognition as a Fine Art subject in India. She is the First Honorary Secretary and Member of the ISROSG- Indian Sub-Continent Regional Orchid Specialist Group of the IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources/SSC-Species Survival Commission and the Trustee President of the Himalayan Trust for Natural History Art, Kalimpong, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, West Bengal, India.