Brilliant, self-effacing, and forthright, S.D. Biju is one of India’s finest field biologists. He started out as a botanist but his passion for frogs soon prompted him to work for a second PhD in Zoology from the Amphibian Evolution Lab in Brussels. Focusing on the rapidly declining amphibian population in India, he quickly realised that we could lose all our frogs within a few short years if dramatic steps were not taken immediately.

One of India’s quietest and finest wildlife conservation filmmakers, Shekar Dattatri has successfully used film to spotlight the issue of our disappearing wildlife and habitats. He has been particularly effective in highlighting the dubious role of India’s development planners in the destruction of life-saving ecosystems. In an era when filmmakers succumb to sensationalism, he has stayed steadfast to his vocation – relying on gripping imagery and meticulous research to enlighten and entertain.

Founder and Director of the Gerry Martin Project, he is celebrated for his unique work with children across India. A childhood spent rescuing snakes and walking through forests led him to join the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust where he worked closely with the legendary Romulus Whitaker. In 2000, Martin became the first Indian Adventurer for the National Geographic Channel and worked with them in India until 2003, after which he joined hands with iDiscoveri Education.

It is on the shoulders of such men that the world of conservation stands when we want to save the tiger, or its forests. Born and brought up in Rajasthan, this brave man was attacked in 1985 by the villagers of Sherpur and Khilchipur who killed a member of his patrolling party. Yet Daulat Singh was back on duty the very next morning. In Sariska, in 1997, a leopard that came out of anaesthesia faster than expected badly mauled him… and again, he was back on duty the day he was discharged from hospital.

Chief Administrative Officer of Namma Sangha for the last seven years, P. Suresha has spent the last decade working for wildlife. As a student, he met the famous wildlifers Krupakar B.S. and Senani Hegde who had been kidnapped by Veerappan, and quickly fell under their spell. For some years he worked with them in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, interacting with local communities to understand and help resolve issues with the Karnataka Forest Department. This formed the basis of his work at Namma Sangha.

At 22, Ramnath Chandrashekar has already chalked up an impressive list of achievements. Quite apart from being an accomplished nature photographer, he has an abiding ambition to convey practical, rational conservation values to young India. His first brush with photography began at the age of 13, in the lush southern Western Ghats. His work soon began to be published nationally and was noticed by the likes of Fujifilm and the Rolex Young Laureates Programme. He was a part of a documentary on king cobras which was broadcast on National Geographic.

Aishwarya Sridhar is only 15 years old – one of the youngest ever Sanctuary awardees. But her age belies her wisdom. She is already a powerful voice for conservation and a shining example to children her age. Her poems and essays, born of a passion for nature, have won numerous awards at inter-school competitions and have been published in papers around the country including The Times of India, DNA and Cub magazine. She appeared on the 2010 NDTV Tiger Telethon to speak vociferously for the tiger.

At 25, Tengbat Sangma is a young naturalist with an abiding interest in amphibians. A field ecologist, this Garo lad from Theobonggre village in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya can rattle off the names of countless frog species of his state with consummate ease. He can identify most of the frogs of Northeast India down to the species level with surprising accuracy, and has become one of India's most trusted young naturalists under the tutelage of S.D. Biju, India’s ‘frog man’.

Praveen Pardeshi is convinced that the interests of Maharashtra and India will best be served if all sectors of society, government and non-government, work together to restore the fabled natural wealth of this magnificent state. This, in his view, will secure our water, food and climate security at an affordable cost and will end up offering right livelihoods to lakhs of forest dwellers and rural poor.

Their children are their life, and they believe that the lives of their children is living nature. This is why this dedicated husband and wife team have chosen to spend their entire existence protecting the forests, rivers, lakes, mountains, coasts and wildlife in the tri-junction of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.