SOUMITRA DASGUPTA

I am  a retired Indian Forest Service officer of 1989: West Bengal Cadre with over 34 years of distinguished service in the field of forest and wildlife management, both at the state level in West Bengal and at the national level in the Government of India. My extensive career has been marked by diverse and progressively senior assignment that reflect a deep commitment to conservation and governance in the environment sector. I have rich experience in formulating policies and projects for big cat conservation, developing recovery plan of endangered species, developed strategies for wildlife conflict mitigation, promote transboundary wildlife conservation.
Held senior post of Inspector General and Additional Director General of Forest in the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Govt. of India. I super-annuated as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Head of Forest Force, Government of West Bengal, the apex post in the Indian Bureaucracy. Following my superannuation, I was engaged by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Senior Consultant, wherein I provided strategic and technical support to the SECURE Himalayas Project and supported operationalization of International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA).
I also served as a Senior Consultant with WWF-India, where I contributed to the development of a specialized Wildlife Crime Control Training Module and provided technical inputs to design a comprehensive and practical training framework aimed at strengthening wildlife law enforcement and capacity building among frontline forest and enforcement personnel.

Presently, I am assisting International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) as a consultant. I am also member in various High level Committee of Ministry, Govt. of India such as Regional Empowered Committee, Central Project Elephant Monitoring Committee and Cheetah Committee.