WILDLIFE TRUST'S SECOND ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD GALA SLATED FOR MAY 5, 2005 AN EVENING IN INDIA TO HONOR MADHAV GADGIL

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WILDLIFE TRUST'S SECOND ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD GALA SLATED FOR MAY 5, 2005 AN EVENING IN INDIA TO HONOR MADHAV GADGIL

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, Apr. 11 -/E-Wire/-- On May 5, guests for Wildlife Trust's Second Annual International Award Gala, AN EVENING IN INDIA, will celebrate the sights, sounds and flavors of India with three kinds of authentic Indian music provided by Arch Worldwide, Bhangra dancing, Indian acrobats and a celebration of traditional Indian cuisine. Honorary Chairmen for the event are philanthropist Virginia C. Mars (former Wildlife Trust Board President and current Council member), and acclaimed filmmaker Ismail Merchant.

The celebration will honor one of the world's leading conservationists, Madhav Gadgil, Ph.D., who has contributed to the success of Wildlife Trust programs. Professor Gadgil has pioneered work in integrating research on biodiversity with the needs of communities and poor people. He has worked to eliminate the separation between the interests of human communities and the requirements of conservation, and he was the main contributor to the establishment of India's first biosphere reserve in the Western Ghats. He is guided by the belief that traditional knowledge of communities is of central importance to scientific research as well as ecological and land use planning.

Wildlife Trust President Mary Pearl notes, "Madhav Gadgil has been an inspiration to a generation of conservation-minded ecologists around the world. Among many books, Professor Gadgil wrote a unique and seminal history of the ecology of the Indian subcontinent, and many consider him the father of ecological studies in India. We are proud to honor him as we honor India's rich natural heritage."

The Wildlife Trust International Awards were created in 2004 to honor outstanding contributions to the field of conservation science, either through visionary support of science or brilliant achievement within the field. The 2004 winners were philanthropist Virginia C. Mars, for her pioneering support for developing strong conservation science in developing nations, and economist Jeffrey Sachs, for his international actions linking environmental change to issues of poverty and health.

The evening's festivities will include a live auction with a rich variety of unique offerings, with Guy Bennett, Vice President, Christie's America, as auctioneer.

Individual tickets are available for $500 (Donor), $1,000 (Supporter), $1,500 (Patron) and $2,500 (Benefactor). Tables are available for $5,000 (Donor Table), $10,000 (Supporter Table), $15,000 (Patron Table) and $25,000 (Benefactor Table). Sponsorships and special underwriting opportunities also are available.

Proceeds from the evening will support a range of Wildlife Trust programs on behalf of threatened species around the world, and its pioneering work in Conservation Medicine, the new discipline that addresses the link between ecology, wildlife and human health.

AN EVENING IN INDIA Cocktail Reception at 6:30 PM Dinner at 7:30 PM Live auction and Dancing at 8:30 PM Gotham Hall 1356 Broadway at 36th Street New York City Attire: Festive

To Purchase Gala Table & Tickets, and Make Auction Bids, please contact Scott Perrin, The Event Office: [REDACTED-EMAIL]; 212/957-9155

Wildlife Trust empowers local conservation scientists worldwide to protect nature and safeguard ecosystem and human health.

VISIT WWW.WILDLIFETRUST.ORG to read more.

WILDLIFE TRUST 2005 INTERNATIONAL AWARD GALA HONOREE MADHAV GADGIL

Madhav Gadgil, M.Sc. (Bombay 1965), Ph.D. (Harvard 1969), recipient of the 2003 Volvo Environment Prize, is Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences in Bangalore which was established through his initiative in 1983. He has been an IBM Fellow and a Lecturer in Biology at Harvard University, a Visiting Professor at Stanford and a Distinguished Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy since 1973 and serves on the Third World Academy of Sciences as a Foreign Associate of the United States. As a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Vikram Sarabhai and Iswarchandra Vidyasagar awards, he was conferred the Rajyotsava Award by the Government of Karnataka and Padmashri by the President of India. Madhav Gadgil is also a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and an Honorary Member of the British Ecological Society.

Madhav Gadgil is an ecologist who is deeply involved in understanding how people view and manage natural resources. He is particularly interested in how human demands affect the productivity and diversity of biological resources. His work involves field research on plant and bird communities, on the organization of rural societies in relation to the use of biological resources and on the resource demands of society at large. As a member of the Karnataka State Planning Board, he is currently creating a program organizing local communities to prepare strategies for sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity. He represents the Government of India on the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to the International Convention on Biological Diversity.

Dr. Gadgil is also active in a network of educational institutions working toward monitoring the biodiversity of Western Ghats, and in a countrywide effort of voluntary agencies to prepare "Peoples's Biodiversity Registers." He has been a member of the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India (1986-90) and Vice President of the Scientific Advisory Body to the Convention on Biological Diversity (1995). He currently chairs the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of Global Environment Facility.

Dr. Gadgil has been a member of the Steering Committees of Project Tiger and the Indian Board for Wild Life, Chairman of the Fuel and Fodder Study Group of the Planning Commission, Biodiversity Task Force of the Department of Biotechnology and Expert Group on Eastern and Western Ghats of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He has been a member of the Silent Valley Committee, the Bastar Pine Plantation Committee and the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

Dr. Gadgil has been active in ecodevelopment-oriented participatory research with numerous organizations, and he writes and broadcasts extensively in Indian languages on environmental issues. His research interests include population biology, conservation biology, human ecology and ecological history. He has published over 170 research papers, two of which have been recognized as Citation Classics. He authored four books, "This Fissured Land," "Ecology and Equity," "Diversity: The Cornerstone of Life" and "Nurturing Biodiversity: An Indian Agenda." He is also a regular contributor to popular media in both English and Indian languages.

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Director for Marketing & Communications

http://WWW.WILDLIFETRUST.ORG

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