Though Rajendra Kerkar was born in Bicholim town in 1965, he spent his childhood days in Keri of Sattari at the foothills of the Western Ghats of Goa. His house was situated in between two rivers. Living in such beautiful and pleasant environment, he was inspired by Mother Nature to work for the protection and conservation of wildlife. Killing of herbivorous animals by the poachers was rampant in the area. Through news articles written in local dailies and also through slide shows and street plays Rajendra Kerkar launched the movement of environmental awareness. After visiting various parts of Goa he realized that several types of mining activities were posing danger to the ecology, environment, and wildlife of the land. When there was very scarce writing against mining available, he wrote various articles on environmental and social impact of mining in Goa. His articles proved helpful for mining affected villagers while making arguments during the public hearings.

Nature Conservation Efforts

After realizing about the approaching dangers for the pristine forests of the Western Ghats in Goa and surroundings, in 1995 Rajendra Kerkar started organizing workshops, nature orientation camps, and other related activities in association with the World Wide Fund, Goa, along with like-minded persons from Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. He started trekking and hiking in the Western Ghats areas and along with members of the Bombay Natural History Society he gave proposal for declaring Mhadei region of Sattari and Netravali region of Sanguem as wildlife sanctuaries. After notification of two new sanctuaries in 1999, there was opposition for newly declared sanctuaries, hence, along with his organization Swami Vivekanand Smruti Sangh established in 1986, he started participating in discussions and debates for convincing villagers about the ecological importance of wildlife sanctuaries. He even received threatening calls and faced numerous hurdles. In July 1997, with Dr NandKumar Kamat, he started the Goa River Conservation Network (GORICON), which was an initiative of the riverine people of Goa to conserve and protect the unique ecological and cultural heritage of Goa's river basins, the sustainable economic activities dependent upon them, and their life support systems. GORICON aims to empower the people dependent upon the Mhadei, Terekhol, Colvale, Zuari, Sal, Talpona, Galijibaga, Saleri, Mandrem, and Harmal rivers, and their tributaries to fight for their traditional, ecological, cultural, social, and economic rights and for the sustainable use of the biotic and abiotic resources of these rivers.

In 1997, he along with the members of Swami Vivekanand Smruti Sangh, in association with Peaceful Society of Goa, organized a state level workshop on the importance of Mhadei River valley, which was responsible for the establishment of the Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan under the leadership of Smt. Nirmala Sawant in October 1997. From the last two decades he is involved in the movement against the illegal damming and diversion of the tributaries of the Mhadei River, the lifeline of Goa. Rajendra Kerkar is actively involved in the movement for the conservation of a 700 sq. km area in and around the Western Ghats, from where the Mhadei River originates. This area, lying in the districts of Belgaum and Uttara Kannada in Karnataka and partly in Goa, is the home of the tiger and the black panther while the Barapeda caves house the Wroughton's free-tail bat, the only place in the world where these bats are found. In 2000, he started the Vivekanand Environment Awareness Bridget in Keri-Sattari to create awareness related to environmental issues in Goa.

In order to encompass all the sections of society in the conservation movement, his organization arranges nature orientation camps, slide shows, and photo exhibitions in educational institutes for villagers of Goa and neighbouring areas. Adventure activities, such as rock climbing and trekking are also organized. Street plays have been one of their tools for spreading the message of conservation. Cycle rallies are organized for awareness of issues demanding urgent attention. The Vivekanand Environment Awareness Brigade (VEAB) is actively involved in rescue, treatment, and rehabilitation of sick and injured wild animals with the help of the Forest Department and other like-minded NGOs.

Eminent Books, Articles and other Publishing Activities

Rajendra Kerkar has many eminent books, articles, and publications to his credit. He compiled information of Community Conserved Areas of Goa in 2000 for Kalpavriksha, Pune, headed by Ashish Kothari. He had submitted documentation of Sacred Groves of Goa and Rivers for National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan (2002) and also prepared a monograph on the Dhangar-Gouly Community of Goa under a fellowship awarded by Braganza Pereira Foundation, Lisbon (Portugal) in 2005. He authored a book on various cultural and ecological aspects of Goa in 2005, for the Directorate of Arts and Culture, Government of Goa. He has written articles on various environmental issues for a book titled, Fish Curry and Rice edited by Dr Claude Alvares. He had also written articles on the cultural facets of Goa for the Parmal (from 2005 to 2008), a magazine of Goa Heritage Action Group. He had also authored a book in Marathi on Goa's rich cultural and ecological heritage in 2007 and written a column 'Nature Heritage of Goa' in the daily The Navhind Times, which was later published into a book. He authored articles in English daily The Gomantak Times under the title, 'Way We Were' pertaining to the ecological history of Goa. Overall, he has contributed more than 5,000 articles in various local newspapers and magazines on varied subjects related to environment and wildlife.

Other Accolades

He was jointly given the Sanctuary Green Teachers' Award 2011 for his meticulous efforts in mentoring and grooming the younger generation to protect and safeguard the natural heritage in Goa and beyond. He was awarded 'Green Ambassador of Goa' in 2012 by Goa CMS Vatavaran Biodiversity Film Festival and Forum. In 2002, as a convenor of Folklore committee, he made an important contribution in formulating the Goa State Cultural Policy on Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage of Goa. The legendary Jane Goodall, on behalf of the Jane Goodall Institute, US, presented him a certificate of membership of Roots and Shoots in 2006 for implementing service projects that promote care and concern for the environment, animals, and the human community. In 2001, he was awarded Vincent Xavier Verodiano from California. He also scripted National award winning Documentary film Devrai in 2007 and also scripted documentary film under mining Goa.

Other Initiatives

In order to prove the presence of tigers in the forests of Goa, Rajendra Kerkar initiated a movement that eventually resulted in showcasing five individual tigers in the forests of Goa. When Dr Madhav Gadgil, as the chairman of Western Ghats Environment Expert Committee visited Goa, Kerkar submitted him a proposal for declaring the already notified core areas of forests of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, excluding human settlements and horticultural and agricultural fields as Goa Tiger Reserve for protecting the water resources of Goa. He was also instrumental in stopping iron ore mine that was proposed in Brahma-Karmali of Sattari. He collected photographic evidences facing danger to curtail illegal mining activities going on in the forests of the Mhadei and Netravali sanctuaries from the notifications of 1999 till 2006 that finally resulted in a centrally Empowered Committee, constituted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India that directed not to lift even a blade of grass from the sanctuaries. All his books, articles, talks, and slide shows, focus on giving utmost priority to the environment, ecology, and wildlife of Goa. He also works for providing alternatives to people for discouraging use of non-biodegradable materials as far as possible. In order to create awareness pertaining to importance of protecting water resources through traditional models of water harvesting and water conservation he has been involved in conducting a number of awareness programmes.