~Vantara announces members of its new independent Governing Council, comprising Indian and international experts to oversee conservation, compliance and future wildlife import applications.
Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, Sep 05 (VNI): Vantara has announced the full membership of its newly established independent Governing Council, which will oversee its conservation, rescue and compliance work and help set the organisation’s vision for the next five years and beyond.
According to Vantara, the five-member Council, along with one ex officio member, brings together Indian and international experts in wildlife policy, 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), will serve as the independent Chair. Other members include Justice Krishna Murari, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India; Craig Hoover, Executive Vice President of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums; Subhash K. Malkhede, senior Indian Forest Service officer and former Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka; and Greta F. Iori, an Ethiopian-Italian conservation expert. Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma, Indian wildlife veterinarian and elephant specialist, will serve as an ex officio, non-voting member.
The Council will have overall responsibility for supervising Vantara’s conservation, rescue and rehabilitation work and compliance with Indian law, CITES and other international agreements. It will also take the final decision on future applications to import wild animals. Vantara said no application to import an animal will be made before June 5, 2027, and thereafter any such application will require the Council’s prior written approval following an internal due diligence process.
Council Chair John Scanlon said the body would play a central role in setting Vantara’s future vision and ensuring recently announced governance changes are embedded in its daily operations. Vantara CEO Vivaan Karani welcomed the members and said the independent authority of the Council would be central to implementing the organisation’s commitments and ensuring rigorous, independent oversight.
The Governing Council is part of Vantara’s wider voluntary governance reforms aimed at strengthening transparency, due diligence and operating practices, including adherence to CITES and greater focus on supporting wildlife in their range states and prioritising rescue, rehabilitation and conservation in India. The Council will also review progress against Vantara’s August 19, 2026 letter to the Indian CITES Management Authority and consider mechanisms for continued engagement with the wider conservation community. VNI NEWS, Vantara Governing Council, Vantara, John E. Scanlon, wildlife conservation, CITES, wildlife governance, Vantara governance reforms, Governing Council, Wildlife Rescue, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Jamnagar, Gujarat,VNINews, VNINews.com