Harbhajan Singh Pabla is the former Chief Wild Life Warden of Madhya Pradesh. Apart from doing the usual things that an Indian forester does, he nurtured his love for the wild while managing national parks like Kanha, Panna and Bandhavgarh. Along the way, he developed a penchant for challenging the stereotypes that have ruled the conservation mindset in the country so far.
He introduced a culture of active wildlife management in India. When Panna lost all its tigers, he developed and implemented the tiger reintroduction plan that has given the world the confidence that wild tigers will always be around. He also reversed the local extinctions of gaur, blackbuck and barasingha through reintroductions. Thousands of animals have been moved between Indian parks since then, on the strength of the learnings from his initiatives. Despite his retirement from IFS, he still dreams of seeing the white tiger back in the wild. His wish list also includes seeing Indian foresters using horses for patrolling the wilderness. He believes that India will not be able to conserve its wildlife unless it becomes a tool for creating jobs for rural people and human-wildlife conflict is managed effectively.
He has also worked as a forestry and wildlife management consultant in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Currently, he lives in Bhopal, India and can be contacted at:
E-mail: pablahsifs@gmail.com
Cell: +91-9425007850