Nirmal Ulhas Kulkarni

Nirmal's growing role as an activist can be seen in the successful ‘Save the Frogs’ campaign against the local consumption of Indian Bullfrogs, which he led along with co-campaigner Clinton Vaz and the Goa Forest Department. The campaign included awareness-cum-law enforcement activities. He was also part of a team that worked on conserving the Bhimgad Forests in Karnataka. Their efforts ultimately led to the creation of the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary. The efforts by his team under Nirmal's leadership also have helped declare the Mahdei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Proposed Tiger Reserve and bring attention to the Mahdei Dam Project that is slated to irreversibly damage prime Western Ghats habitat.

Nirmal has researched, mapped and recorded the secrets of the Mhadei Bio Region. He would often accompany renowned historian and environmentalist Mr. Rajendra Kerkar into deep forests, armed with just a camera. Those journeys whetted his appetite to know more about the region which was undocumented, and on several self-funded journeys he photo-documented the diversity of Mahdei – particularly lesser known animal species like reptiles and amphibians, insects and spiders.

Nirmal Kulkarni was invited to the Philippines in August 2013 on a series of lectures and talks. He was invited to speak on ‘Engaging youth for conservation through field research training in India’ by the University of Cebu and the KAS Environmental Law Talks committee. He was also a speaker at "Nurturing Biodiversity Protection among Children" that was organized by the Philippines Earth Justice Center and Dept of Education, City of Cebu Province. Nirmal also engaged with Forest stewards of the Tabunan forests and with Councilor archival at the Eco House on issues ranging from conservation and recycling to wildlife documentation. He was also a speaker at the Forum on Eco Tourism that was organized by Cebu City government and Grassroots Travel. Nirmal was also interviewed on a local television channel by the Cebu lady lawyer's association and his work was covered in local newspapers.

Nirmal Ulhas Kulkarni (born 27 December 1978 in Mumbai, India) is a herpetologist, field ecologist, conservationist, and wildlife photographer. Director (Ecology) of Wildernest Nature Resort, an eco-tel in the Chorla Ghats (Goa), Chairman of the Mhadei Research Centre, Team Lead of Hypnale Research Station and promoter of HERPACTIVE, a study initiative on Herpetofauna. As of December 2012, he lives in Goa.