Born on 15th August 1947, Dr. Samant was brought up in Kolhapur. He completed his Master’s Degree and PhD in Zoology. After working as HoD at Mumbai and Shivaji Universities, he went on to become the Director of BNHS. He has represented India at the Vasundhara Conference held at Rio, Brazil. He is a member of several committees set up by the Central and State Governments to look into environmental issues and is also active through the NGO – Devrai. He has also organized initiatives like Pashchim Ghat Bachao Yatra and Silent Valley.