In the realm of wildlife conservation, few stories are as inspiring as that of Dr Sonali Ghosh. In September 2023 she broke new ground by becoming the first woman Field Director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam. Then, in October 2025, she achieved another historic milestone by becoming the first Indian to receive the Kenton R. Miller Award for Innovation in Protected Area Management under the aegis of the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA).
Her career merges scientific expertise, strong leadership and community engagement — elevating conservation in one of India’s most iconic protected areas.
Early Life & Education
Dr Ghosh was born in 1975 in Pune and grew up in an Army family whose frequent relocations exposed her to diverse forests and ecosystems across India. She topped the Indian Forest Service (IFS) examination in the 2000-2003 batch and went on to earn postgraduate degrees in forestry and wildlife science, a diploma in environmental law and systems management, and a PhD with focus on remote-sensing in tiger habitat modelling. That combination of academic strength and field exposure prepared her for the demanding responsibilities of managing large, dynamic landscapes.
Career Highlights & Leadership at Kaziranga
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Before her posting to Kaziranga, Dr Ghosh worked in critical roles in other protected landscapes such as Manas National Park and Orang National Park, building experience in habitat restoration, anti-poaching and community engagement.
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On 1 September 2023, she took over as Field Director of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve, becoming its first woman leader in over a century.
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Under her leadership, the park emphasised modern surveillance technologies (drones, camera traps), reinforced its veterinary wing, expanded corridor connectivity, and continued its mission to protect the Greater One-Horned Rhino.
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Crucially, she advanced inclusive conservation by integrating local communities, leveraging traditional ecological knowledge, and promoting eco-tourism models that benefit both nature and people.
The Kenton R. Miller Award & Global Recognition
The Kenton R. Miller Award — named after former IUCN Director-General Dr Kenton R. Miller — is given biennially by the WCPA to individuals or teams whose innovations significantly improve the governance, sustainability and management of protected areas. On 10 October 2025, during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, Dr Ghosh was awarded this prestigious honour, sharing the laurels with Ecuador’s Roque Simón Sevilla Larrea. The award recognized her holistic model of conservation: blending scientific rigour with community engagement, strengthening protected-area sustainability, and promoting gender inclusion. For India, this marks a global milestone — demonstrating that Indian conservation practitioners are not just participants but innovators on the world stage.
Why Her Approach Matters
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Community-centred conservation: Dr Ghosh’s strategy includes local communities as partners, not just beneficiaries, thereby aligning livelihoods with wildlife protection.
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Integration of tradition & science: She advocates combining indigenous knowledge with modern technology for habitat monitoring and species protection.
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Female leadership in conservation: Her appointment breaks gender barriers in a sector historically dominated by men, inspiring future generations.
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Resilience to climate & disaster: At Kaziranga, she led responses to flood crises, coordinating rescue, habitat adaptation and patrol operations. Her leadership offers a blueprint for protected-area management in an era of climate stress, human-wildlife conflict and biodiversity loss.
What It Means for Wildlife & Conservation in India
Dr Ghosh’s achievements reflect a shift in India’s conservation story: from reactive protection to proactive, inclusive stewardship.
Her work at Kaziranga underscores how flagship parks can evolve from iconic tourism zones into integrated landscapes where biodiversity thrives, communities flourish, and governance is agile.
The global recognition of her work via the Kenton R. Miller Award sends a message: India is not just implementing conservation — it is innovating it.
FAQs
Q1. Who is Dr Sonali Ghosh?
She is an Indian Forest Service officer of the 2000 batch, currently Field Director of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve, Assam.
Q2. What makes her appointment historic?
She became the first woman Field Director of Kaziranga on 1 September 2023 — the first time a woman has headed the 118-year-old park.
Q3. What is the Kenton R. Miller Award and why did she receive it?
The award is granted by IUCN’s WCPA to conservationists innovating protected-area management. Dr Ghosh received it in October 2025, becoming the first Indian to do so. She was honoured for her innovative, community-driven leadership at Kaziranga.
Q4. What are some key contributions she made?
– Strengthened community-led conservation models
– Introduced advanced monitoring & anti-poaching systems
– Managed climate & flood events in the park with resilience
– Promoted gender inclusion and sustainable tourism in conservation areas
Q5. Why is her work especially important for India’s conservation future?
Her leadership signals a new era where India’s protected areas are managed not just for wildlife but with wildlife, incorporating local voices, modern tech, and inclusive governance. It offers replicable lessons for other parks, especially in the Global South.
Conclusion
Dr Sonali Ghosh’s journey from a young nature-lover in an Army family to the helm of one of India’s most iconic national parks, and further to global recognition, is both inspiring and instructive. Her dual milestones — becoming Kaziranga’s first woman field director and India’s first Kenton R. Miller Award recipient — reflect not just personal achievement but evolving paradigms in conservation.
In her leadership, we see the fusion of science and society, of frontline action and policy innovation, of local empowerment and global impact. For India’s wildlife future, her story is a beacon: one where people, nature and institutions converge to protect the planet’s most precious heritage.
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