Shri N. Vasudevan is a senior Indian Forest Officer of 1987 batch in the rank of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,. He is the Managing Director of Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra, Nagpur. Sh. Vasudevan completed his first Master’s programme in Marine Biology from Cochin University, and the second in‘ Public Policy and Management ’from I.I.M. Bangalore.
Shri Vasudevan headed the ‘Mangrove Cell ’of Maharashtra for nearly eight years since its inception in 2012. He is responsible for many pioneering initiatives in the area of coastal and marine biodiversity conservation, including, the formation of the Mangrove Foundation of Maharashtra, declaration of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary and the establishment of the “Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre” at Airoli, Mumbai. He is credited with the introduction of many livelihood programmes for conservation of mangroves in Maharashtra. During his tenure at the Mangrove Cell, the mangrove cover of Maharashtra rose by a phenomenal 72%.
Sh. Vasudevan is the recipient of the Arun Bongirwar Award for Public Service Excellence (2019), Maharashtra Civil Services Day Honour (2017), Mangrove Society of India Fellowship (2016), Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Service Award (2015) and M.S. Swaminathan Foundation Special Award (1992). He has published two books and contributed several articles on mangroves and the coastal ecosystem.
