Shri Dipak Sarmah, a retired Indian Forest Service (1977) Officer of the Karnataka cadre, started his career in the Western Ghats, serving in the region for more than a decade. He also served in the Government of India as Deputy Adviser, Planning Commission and as Deputy Inspector General of Forests, Forest Policy, MoEF (1991-1995). Later, he served in several positions in the Government of Karnataka including Conservator of Forests, Wildlife (North Circle), Secretary (Forest), PCCF (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife Warden, superannuating in December 2013 as PCCF (Head of Forest Force). Post retirement, Shri Sarmah assisted the Forest Department in preparing documents including Working Plans, Evaluation Reports, Cadre Review Report and Training Action Plan. He also assisted the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), Bangalore in compiling the State of Environment Report (SoER-2015) as Chief Editor. Shri Sarmah is the author of three books, namely, Status of Forests of Karnataka, Forestry in Karnataka – A Journey of 150 Years and Forests of Karnataka – A Panoramic View. In 2011, Hon’ble Supreme Court of India nominated him to the Monitoring Committee to supervise mining operations and sale of ore in Karnataka. He continues to serve as the chairman of the committee till date.