Sanctuary Asia,
India's leading wildlife, conservation and environment magazine,
was started by Editor Bittu Sahgal in 1981 to raise awareness
among Indians of their disappearing natural heritage. The
overwhelming response to the magazine led to the birth of
Sanctuary Cub, a children's nature magazine, in 1984
and to The Ecologist Asia (Indian edition of The
Ecologist, U.K.) a journal dedicated to the issues of the
environment, development and human rights, in 1993.
In the 1980s, Sanctuary Films produced
two wildlife/conservation serials aired on Doordarshan, India's
national television network. The first, Project Tiger, was
a documentary while the other, Rakshak, was a narrative serial
for children. The films were shot on 16 mm. and the Sanctuary
team visited virtually every wildlife haven in India (stock
footage available on request).
In the early 1990s, Sanctuary's
scope expanded. We began to reach out to larger numbers through
the syndication of articles. Sanctuary Features was born and
it used the mainstream press to put forward alternate views
on wildlife and development issues. Features covered a variety
of subjects including travel, science, health, nutrition and
the politics of development. Sanctuary Features is
now also a leading content provider for websites interested
in the above subjects.
Sanctuary Photo Library, our stock
photo agency, has a fully computerised database of images
that are available on request. Our focus is on Indian/Asian
natural history and is used by academicians, picture researchers
for publications, non-profits, websites, advertising agencies
and corporate communicators. Sanctuary is a melting pot of
natural history visuals, information and resources and these
are put to good use to produce some of the finest wildlife
and nature calendars, posters, slide shows, exhibitions and
other products available in India. These high quality products
can be made available at reasonable rates and can be delivered
anywhere in the world.
Sanctuary Cub reaches out to children
across India through schools and nature clubs. We conduct
nature walks, camps, slide shows and rallies for children
with the help of qualified naturalists and environmental educationists.
Sanctuary is at the fulcrum of several wildlife
conservation campaigns and serves as a network for wildlife
groups, concerned individuals and non-profit organisations.
It is also a source of information for press and television
reporters.
Sanctuary’s Kids for Tigers,
an environmental education programme in schools across India,
aims at increasing awareness among children about the nation's
biodiversity and sensitise them to the fact that saving tigers
and forests will secure water supply and help save ourselves.
Through 'edutainment' workshops, exciting tiger fests, thought--provoking
film shows and nature walks, Kids for Tigers leaves children
and teachers enthralled with the world of nature and wildlife.
The programme is in its 5th year and is an integral part of
1,000 schools all over India.
In 1999-2000, Kids for Tigers collected one
million signatures in support of the tiger. The Limca Book
of Records certified this as the world's largest 'Save the
Tiger' scroll.
In summary, the organisation could be described
as one that aims to communicate the rationale for wildlife
conservation and environmental protection. Our focus is the
Indian subcontinent and Asia, but our horizon spans the globe.
Sanctuary is a privately-owned, self-supporting venture and
does not accept any donations. Its funding sources are advertisements,
subscriptions and content provision.
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