Forestry and Wild Life

Career Prospects

In case you are a law graduate, you could choose to become a wildlife lawyer and help in preventing illegal activities like poaching, smuggling of animal products, torture and cruelty to animals and so forth. Or else you can be a wild life historian, and even consultants to the government or the private sector. You could also choose to become an environmentalist-cum-primatologist like Dr.Iqbal Malik who is perpetually in the news in connection with the monkey menace in the Indian capital.

Another upcoming segment is that of wildlife consultants for premier organizations like World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India, Centre for Environment Education, located in Ahmedabad, Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI). Consultancy firms like Ernst and Young, KPMG hire wildlife consultants to do environment impact assessments prior to their projects.

A good number of NGO hire Indian biologists and veterinarians to undertake projects in South Africa, Kampuchea, and Vietnam among others. The widest sector of employment is provided by the Indian Forest Service, with a national cadre and a forest department in each state and union territory running more than one environment assessment project at any given time. Last but not the least the individual can opt for teaching-a relatively sedate and secured profession.

The avenues that are open for you are numerous! Armed with a basic degree in Biology, one can opt for research. He/she can even become still life photographers like Belinda Wright, Bedi Brothers (Rajesh and Naresh) Joanna Van Gruisen etc. There is wide scope in filmmaking (a la Mike Pandey and Alva Brothers) as also in wild life journalism. BBC wild life is a fabulous journal, worth mentioning in this connection. At the international forum opportunities exist in television channels like Discovery and Natural Geographic, which conduct in-depth research in wildlife, flora, ecology and evolution of specialists.