Nisha Lakra at 13:44, 13 November 2025

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{{short description|Indian conservationist and civil servant (born 1937)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Hemendra Singh Panwar
| image = The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Shri Hemendra Singh Panwar, at an Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 05, 2013.jpg
| caption = Panwar (''left'') receiving the [[Padma Bhushan]] from President [[Pranab Mukherjee]] (''right''), 2013
| native_name =
| birth_date = 22 March 1937
| birth_place = Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]] (2013)
}}

'''Hemendra Singh Panwar''' is an Indian conservationist and civil servant, known for his efforts in the fields of wildlife and conservation. He was the first director of the [[Wildlife Institute of India]] and was the director of ''[[Project Tiger]]''.<ref name="The Hindu Interview">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/trailing-the-stripes/article4448123.ece | title=The Hindu Interview | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> The [[Government of India]] honoured him, in 2013, with [[Padma Bhushan]], the third-highest civilian award, for his services to the environment and conservation.<ref name="Govt announcement">{{cite web | url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=91838 | title=Govt announcement | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="Padma 1">{{cite web | url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/list-of-padma-awardees-322445 | title=Padma 1 | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref>

==Biography==
Hemendra Singh Panwar was born on 22 March 1937 in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.<ref name="WII Bio">{{cite web | url=http://www.wii.gov.in/images/images/documents/enewsletter_spring_2013.pdf | title=WII Bio | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> He started his career in [[Indian Forest Service]], which took off with his posting at [[Mandla]]. In 1969, he was transferred to South Mandla which covered the forest areas of Kanha which had a sparse head count of 30 [[tigers]] and [[Barasingha]]s (swamp deer) numbering 66.<ref name="WII Bio" /> Panwar's efforts on deer conservation was given a boost when he was put in charge of barasingha conservation as an independent unit.

During his stint at Kanha, Panwar is reported to be successful in converting the park into an efficiently managed unit, and the park won the award for the best managed park in India in 1976. The headcount of tigers grew to 150 and the deer to over 400 and the park management was able to relocate 22 interior villages.<ref name="WII Bio" />

In 1981, Panwar was transferred to Delhi, as the head of Project Tiger, a project conceptualised in 1973, for the protection of tiger population in India. He worked for 4 years on the project, till 1985, during which time, the project brought seven additional reserves under its umbrella. The population of tigers in India rose from 1900 to 3000.<ref name="WII Bio" /> He was also invited to present a paper on the subject by the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref name="The Hindu Interview" />

At this time, the idea of setting up an institute focusing wildlife conservation was being mooted by V. B. Saharia, and as a result of his efforts, the Wildlife Institute of India was established in 1985 with Hemendra Singh Panwar as its first director. Panwar established the institute into a full-fledged learning centre with specialised focus on wildlife biology, management, and extension. Research facilities were also set up in the topics of focus. The [[Wildlife Institute of India]] is
rated as one of the six best conservation research institutions by the [[World Conservation Union]] and has won Rajiv Gandhi Conservation Award. Panwar retired as its director in 1994.<ref name="The Hindu Interview" />

==Awards and recognition==
Hemendra Singh Panwar has won several awards and honours for his services.
* [[Padma Bhushan]] – 2013<ref name="Govt announcement" /><ref name="Padma 1" />
* The Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal – [[World Wildlife Fund|WWF International]] – 2002<ref name="WII Bio" /><ref name="WWF">{{cite web|url=http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/duke_of_edinburgh_conservation_medal/ |title=WWF |access-date=5 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725110145/http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/duke_of_edinburgh_conservation_medal/ |archive-date=25 July 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Pawarmahasabha">{{cite web | url=http://pawarmahasabha.org/achievements-pawar.php | title=Pawarmahasabha | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref>
* [[Rajiv Gandhi]] Wildlife Conservation Award – 1998<ref name="WII Bio" /><ref name="Pawarmahasabha" />
* Tree of Learning Award – [[World Conservation Union]] (WCA-IUCN) – 1996<ref name="WII Bio" /><ref name="Pawarmahasabha" />
* Fred M. Parker International Parks Merit Award – World Conservation Union (WCA-IUCN) – 1996<ref name="WII Bio" />
* Prime Minister's Memento in 1992 for Project Tiger<ref name="WII Bio" />
* Government of Madhya Pradesh Gold Medal – 1981<ref name="WII Bio" />

==Works==
* {{cite book | title=Kanha National Park: A Handbook | publisher=Centre for Environment Education Ahmedabad, in collaboration with United States National Park Service as a project of the Indo-US Subcommission on Science & Technology|author1=Hemendra S. Panwar |author2=Vijay Singh Negi | year=1981 | location=Ahmedabad | pages=132 | oclc=80152524}}
* {{cite book | title=Reviving river Yamuna : an actionable blue print for a blue river | publisher= PEACE Institute Charitable Trust | author=Hemendra S. Panwar | year=2009 | location=Delhi | pages=76 | oclc=505927369}}
* {{cite book | title=Wildlife protected area network in India : a review, executive summary | publisher=Wildlife Institute of India|author1=Hemendra S. Panwar |author2=W. A. Rogers |author3=Vinod P. Mathur | year=2002 | location=Dehradun | pages=44 | isbn=9788185496139 | oclc=50717212}}
* {{cite book | title=Gene flow and demographic history of leopards (Panthera pardus) in the central Indian highlands | publisher=Evolutionary Applications |author1=Trishna Dutta |author2=Sandeep Sharma |author3=Jess E Maldonado |author4=Thomas C Wood |author5=Hemendra S Panwar |author6=John Seidensticker | pages=949–959 | oclc=5148085588}}
* {{cite journal | title=Selection of microsatellite loci for genetic monitoring of sloth bears | journal=Ursus |author1=Sandeep Sharma |author2=Trishna Dutta |author3=Jess E Maldonado |author4=Thomas C Wood |author5=Hemendra Singh Panwar |author6=John Seidensticker | pages=164–169 | issn=1537-6176 | oclc=5526234856}}

==See also==
* [[Wildlife Institute of India]]
* [[Project Tiger]]
* [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]]
* [[World Wide Fund for Nature]]

{{portal|India}}

==External links==
* Reference by Renee M Borges<ref name="Reference">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/womeninscience/LD_essays/59-62.pdf | title=Reference | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref>
* Padma Award Ceremony<ref name="Award Ceremony">{{cite web | url=http://inbministry.blogspot.in/2013/04/padma-awardsphoto-gallery.html | title=Award Ceremony | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref>
* List of Books on WorldCat<ref name="WorldCat List">{{cite web | url=http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3APanwar%2C+Hemendra+S.&qt=hot_author | title=WorldCat List | access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}}
{{Indian civil servants}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panwar, Hemendra Singh}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service]]
[[Category:Indian environmental writers]]
[[Category:Indian conservationists]]
[[Category:Wildlife conservation in India]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:Scholars from Madhya Pradesh]]

Hemendra Singh Panwar - Revision history

Nisha Lakra at 13:44, 13 November 2025