JAMNAGAR (India CSR): Vantara today announced the full membership of its newly established Governing Council. The Council will oversee Vantara’s conservation, rescue and compliance work, take the final decision on any future applications to import wild animals, and help set Vantara’s vision for the next five years and beyond.
The five-member Council, together with one ex officio member, brings together leading Indian and international experts in wildlife policy, international and national law, institutional oversight, wildlife crime, human-wildlife conflict, zoo and aquarium standards, veterinary care, stakeholder engagement and community-based conservation.
John E. Scanlon AO, renowned environmentalist and former Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), whose appointment as independent Chair was announced in August 2026, will be joined by:
- Hon. Justice Krishna Murari, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, with extensive experience in law, governance and institutional oversight.
- Craig Hoover, Executive Vice President of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and a wildlife conservation leader with three decades of experience, including senior roles with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, overseeing international conservation and wildlife trade, will commence his term in January 2027 after completing his tenure with AZA.
- Subhash K. Malkhede, senior officer at the Indian Forest Service and former Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka, with extensive experience in wildlife conservation, protected-area and endangered species management, human-wildlife conflict, wildlife law enforcement and regulatory oversight.
- Greta F. Iori, an Ethiopian-Italian conservation expert with significant experience in wildlife crime, human-wildlife coexistence, women’s leadership and community-based conservation across Africa.
- Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma (ex officio non-voting member), Indian wildlife veterinarian and elephant specialist, formerly Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery and Radiology at the College of Veterinary Science, Guwahati.
The members of the Council serve in an independent personal capacity. Vantara employees cannot be voting members of the Council.
John Scanlon, Chair of the Governing Council, said: “The Governing Council has a central role to play in setting the future vision for Vantara and in ensuring it embeds recently announced changes into its daily operations. With these appointments, we are bringing in people with outstanding professional credentials, extensive experience, and exemplary personal credibility. It’s an exceptional team that blends deep expertise from within India and globally. We will work diligently together to make a lasting, transformative positive impact for wildlife conservation, and look forward to engaging with Vantara staff and the conservation community in our work.”
Vivaan Karani, CEO of Vantara, said: “I welcome the members of the Governing Council, who will play an instrumental role in setting our future vision and in ensuring that Vantara is held to the highest standards as we advance science-led conservation. The independent authority of the Council is central to our efforts to fully implement the commitments made in our letter to the Indian CITES Management Authority last month, and to ensuring Vantara’s decisions are subject to rigorous and independent oversight.”
The Governing Council is Vantara’s peak governing body, and it has overall responsibility for supervising Vantara’s conservation, rescue and rehabilitation work, its compliance with Indian law, CITES and other international agreements, and in helping set its vision for the next five years and beyond. Further, as set out in Vantara’s recently announced governance reforms, no application to import an animal will be made before 5 June 2027. Thereafter, the commitments not to apply to import an animal in certain circumstances will apply, and no application may be advanced without the Council’s prior written approval, which will follow an internal due diligence process.
The establishment of the Governing Council is part of Vantara’s wider voluntary commitments to strengthen transparency, due diligence and operating practices, emphasising adherence to CITES, shifting focus towards supporting wildlife in their range states, and prioritising rescue, rehabilitation and conservation within India.
The Council will continually review progress against Vantara’s letter to the Indian CITES Management Authority of 19 August 2026 to ensure full implementation of the commitments therein. The full text of the letter is available here.
The Council is supported by the new CITES Due Diligence Committee and the Advisory Board, as well as the Special Director and the Office of Compliance and Due Diligence, each of which is described in Vantara’s letter to the Indian CITES Management Authority.
Vantara has committed to deeper engagement with the conservation community, and the Council will consider a possible mechanism to enable an ongoing dialogue with members of the conservation community working in the field to share ideas, knowledge and perspectives. The Council will gather feedback from stakeholders on the best way forward.
© Copyright Disclaimer: All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, republished, distributed or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from India CSR®
