WWF awards Lifetime Achievement honour to Hyderabad ornithologist Aasheesh Pittie

Hyderabad: Ornithologist Aasheesh Pittie was felicitated at the WWF Golf Tournament Valedictory Dinner recently. The honour was for being awarded the HH Bloomer Award 2025 of the Linnean Society of London by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma.

Lifetime achievement award

In honour of his remarkable lifelong dedication to ornithology and nature conservation, WWF-India Hyderabad Office conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award on Aasheesh Pittie.

Pittie, in his speech, said, “To receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Secretary-General of WWF-India closes a circle that began in the late 1970s with a larger-than-life poster of a soulful, moist-eyed Leopard cub, staring at all passersby, from the showcase of the city’s best-loved bookshop, AA Husain & Co.”

“That poster, published by World Wildlife Fund-India, changed the course of my life towards natural history in general, and ornithology in particular. From the caption notes behind it, I learnt about the organisation and became a student member. When I began receiving its newsletter, I learnt of the Nature Clubs of India movement that WWF-India had started.

Trustees of the WWF, an organisation established to collect funds for the conservation of all wildlife, were even then clear-eyed about the involvement of the youth in safeguarding India’s wildness, realising that an empathetic and educated generation of youngsters would ensure the continuity and growth of India’s wilderness and its denizens. I am a product of that movement and that generation,” he added.

Speaking about his journey, Pittie said, “Field trips and memberships of various conservation organisations, especially the erstwhile Birdwatchers’ Society of Andhra Pradesh, now renamed Deccan Birders, where I truly cut my teeth at the art of birding. A deep and abiding interest in books invariably led me into the immensely rich historical literature of South Asian ornithology. That is my ornithological story.”

Birds are an early warning system

In these days of accelerating climate change and large-scale environmental degradation, birds are an extremely sensitive early warning system for humanity.

Pittie explained, “The charm of birds—vibrant colours, mesmerising songs, energetic behaviour—is a universal attraction to all humankind. They are the most abundant and common non-human life visible to us; no wonder the number of birdwatchers around the world grows in astronomical leaps.

On October 11, during the mega Big Bird Day, Indians reported 759 species (9th) and uploaded 4,110 checklists (7th). Worldwide, 870,000 birders participated in the event.

Hyderabad City Bird Atlas

One way of understanding our changing surroundings is to study their non-human dwellers. Towards this, a group of highly motivated individuals and organisations have begun a 3-year mapping study of the summer and winter birdlife in Hyderabad.

The idea is to create a Hyderabad City Bird Atlas as a document of base data for future studies. Voluntary work requires motivation and dedication, and funds.

Pittie’s contribution to Indian Ornithology

Farida Tampal, State Director, WWF-India, Hyderabad State Office, said, “Aasheesh Pittie began his journey into natural history through WWF-India’s Nature Club movement, an initiative that has nurtured an entire generation of conservationists and wildlife biologists across the country. Over the decades, his contributions to Indian ornithology have been extraordinary. He has mentored, inspired, and guided countless birders in this part of India, shaping both knowledge and passion for the avian world.

About WWF-India

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organisations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future which allows humans to live in harmony with nature. WWF-India is recognised nationally as one of the leading conservation organisations in the country, with conservation initiatives spanning across the country.

WWF-India, Hyderabad Office

In Hyderabad, WWF has been working as a State Office since 1972, with a focus on environmental education, biodiversity research and on-ground conservation involving local communities and schools within forests and forest fringe areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states.

The Hyderabad Office has recently also initiated the Godavari Landscape program that connects Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to strengthen the corridor that connects forests in these states and provide safe passage for tiger and other wildlife movement by involving all stakeholders.

Reducing the threat to turtles

WWF India’s work in Andhra Pradesh is focused on the Eastern Ghats and the coasts. WWF is working on reducing threats to the Olive Ridley turtles. This includes working with Trawl Boat Operators Associations on including TEDs (turtle excluder devices) in their trawl nets and addressing the issue of Ghost fishing by abandoned, lost and discarded nets.

City nature challenge

WWF-India Hyderabad Office emerged as a winner in the City Nature Challenge from across 200 cities in India and at the 12th position from across 600 cities globally. This challenge involved nearly 800 volunteers from Hyderabad, and close to 36,000 biodiversity observations were recorded.