Mumbai: Parveen Shaikh, a scientist with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has won the Sanctuary Wildlife Service Award 2025 for her work in enlisting the local community living around the National Chambal Sanctuary for the conservation of the Indian Skimmer, an endangered bird.
Shaikh began research in 2016 with her dedicated study of Indian Skimmers, a species classified as 'endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The study of the birds at sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, located along the Chambal river in the tri-junction of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, grew into one of the most impactful community-based conservation efforts for riverine birds in India, said BNHS.
Between 2016 and 2018, Shaikh's work focused on understanding nesting ecology, monitoring survival, and documenting threats to bird colonies. “Indian Skimmers nest directly on exposed sandbars when summer water levels drop. Both parents incubate the eggs, but with no structured nests, the colonies are extremely vulnerable,” she explained.
Changing river flows, dams, and drop in water levels during summer often connect sandbars to the banks, allowing free-ranging dogs, jackals, and livestock to reach colonies and destroy nests, resulting in high nest failure. By 2019, after observing consistently low survival, Shaikh and her team tested community-led protection in a few vulnerable colonies. The pilot projects were successful and led to the launch of a full-fledged 'Nest Guardian' initiative. Local community members were trained to monitor colonies, install predator proof fencing, and deter predators and disturbances around the clock.
“At sites where survival was almost zero, we saw it rise to nearly 60 percent once guardians were deployed,” Shaikh noted. The initiative also provided meaningful livelihood support for marginalised river-dependent families.
A bird count in January 2024 by BNHS estimated that the number of Indian Skimmers, with the scientific name as Rynchops albicollis, was 1812 in the country, of which 544 were in the Chambal sanctuary. In 2020, their numbers were estimated at 1159.
The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards, instituted by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation, annually honour India's earth heroes. The first issue of Sanctuary Asia rolled out in October 1981, with the magazine reporting on wildlife conservation efforts pan India. The Foundation's mission is to produce well-researched communications built upon a bedrock of good science, to conceptualise and implement conservation projects while taking a holistic view on human, wildlife and climate issues. The BNHS is a premier scientific organisation that has promoted the conservation of threatened species and habitats since 1883.
Shaikh stated that the recognition is shared. “Although I am the face of this award, the real credit goes to the field teams, the forest departments, and the community members who protect these nests every season.”
Shaikh continues to lead long-term Skimmer research and conservation in the National Chambal Sanctuary in close collaboration with the forest departments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, with support from the Conservation Leadership Programme, BirdLife International, The Habitat Trust and GIC over the years. Her work spans nest monitoring, protection by community, ringing and colour-flagging, habitat assessments, river surveys, and long-term population studies.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
