Dr. J.R.B Alfred
President
Dr. Alfred graduated from Assam and obtained his Master’s and Ph. D. degrees from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu respectively. After his post-Doctoral studies, he joined the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, where he served as Lecturer and Reader in Zoology before being appointed as Deputy Director, Eastern Regional Station, Zoological Survey of India, Shillong and later as Director of the Zoological Survey of India. A well-known Zoologist and taxonomist, he started his work on Limnology with special reference to Chironomids and moved on to Soil fauna dynamics in Jhum cultivation and ecology and behaviour of the Hoolock Gibbon from N.E. India. He has more than 30 years of research experience, having coordinated several research projects and participated in many faunal surveys and expeditions to different parts of India. He has represented India in a number of International conventions such as CITES, CBD-COP, SUBSTAA, GBIF-IUCN etc. He has published more than 300 scientific papers and 50 books. He is the President of the Zoological Society of Kolkata and the Vice-President of Nature Mates and is a member of the West Bengal Biodiversity Board.
Mr. Biswajit Rai Chaudhuri
Secretary
Mr. Roy Chowdhury is an eminent conservationist and wildlife expert. He is the founder secretary of NEWS and editor of the wildlife magazine Environ. He has been a member of the State Wildlife Board for the last 13 years. He is the writer of some legendary wildlife books, like, ‘Days in the Wild’, ‘Wild Wonders of India’, ‘Sundarbans: a majestic mangrove’ and several others.
Ms. Ajanta Dey
Joint Secretary & Program Director
Ms. Ajanta Dey has been working on ecological and environmental issues with an ecosystem approach for over two decades. She is the Joint Secretary & Programme Director of Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS). She is a member of the Commission on Ecosystems Management (CEM) – International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and also the Regional Co-ordinator of Living Lakes and Wetlands-South Asia. Ms. Dey also holds the position of Editor of Eastern India’s only wildlife and environment magazine, ENVIRON, and is also the member of Directorate of Distance Education, Vidyasagar University. She has worked on coastal restoration programme, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, water shed management etc and believes in partnership and building synergies at all levels to achieve the sustainable development goals. She believes in nature-based solutions and works in the science-community-policy interface to bring transformations to that effect.
Mr. Subhasis Basu
Treasurer
Retired as Joint Commissioner of Income Tax in 2009, Mr. Basu is an ardent nature lover. He is one of the Founder members of Nature Environment Wildlife Society. His hobbies are photography, book reading and travelling.
Dr. Twisha Lahiri
Member
A well known environmentalist, she relentlessly fights against vehicular and air pollution and was instrumetal in introducing buses run by CNG in Delhi. She retired as the Director of Chittaranjan Cancer Research Institute. She has nearly 100 scientific publications in reputed national and international journals.
Dr. Manas Ranjan Roy
Member
Dr. Ray is an M.Sc in Zoology and Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Calcutta University. He is the former Senior Assistant Director and Head of the Department of Experimental Hematology of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata. Dr. Ray’s field of research is cancer biology and environmental health with special reference to air and water pollution. Currently he is an invited faculty of postgraduate studies in Environmental Science of Calcutta University and West Bengal State University. He is the Editor of the Springer journal ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society (PZOS)’, Kolkata.
Ms. Raka Kar
Member
Ms. Kar was born in Allahabad where she grew up amongst the nature. Presently she is actively involved in wildlife conservation and socio-economic activities. She is guided by her daughter, who is a senior officer in the Auto Wildlife Crime wing of Interpol.
Mr. Abdul Kader Kagalwala
Member
Mr. Kagalwala by profession is an industrialist. He is a keen tiger conservationist with vast knowledge about different tiger habitats and their problems. He is also an ace tiger photographer
Mr. Shiladitya Chaudhury
Member
Communication consultant and restaurateur. A passionate wildlife photographer, he is the Editor of Environ and the governing body member of Nature, Environment & Wildlife Society popularly known as NEWS, a NGO working towards conservation of wildlife and environment. He is also a regular columnist for various nature, travel and wildlife magazines.
Mr. Shubhendu Banerjee
Member
A civil engineer by profession with a special interest for interior designing, Mr. Banerjee has a passion for conservation of environment, especially birds, driving him to the natural places like Chamong tea estate in Darjeeling to develop it as a birding destination.
Dr. Shabnam Agarwal
Member
Prof. Agarwal is a dedicated clinician, experienced and innovative educator and serious researcher. She is a specialist Musculo-skeletal physiotherapist, practicing in Belle Vue Clinic, Kolkata, as the Chief Physiotherapist, since the past 25 years. With a Masters from University of Wales, College of Medicine, Cardiff, UK and a PhD from Curtin university, Western Australia, Dr Agarwal combines this extensive academic exposure with her vast experience in both academics and clinicals.
Mr. Pradyut Choudhury
Member
An entrepreneur, formerly associated with multinational banks. He is a passionate bird and wildlife photographer, travelled widely, contributes in a blog and takes much interest in conservation of nature