Guwahati, May 2 (PTI) Assam’s eminent conservation biologist Dr Purnima Devi Barman has been conferred with the ‘Green Oscar’ Whitley Gold Award in recognition of her work in conserving the endangered Greater Adjutant bird, locally called ‘Hargila’.
The Whitley Gold Award is the highest honour given by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature for outstanding contribution to conservation.
Barman, after receiving the award in London, said the recognition is not for her alone but also for Assam and the rest of the country.
She has been working for nearly two decades to ensure the survival of the Greater Adjutant stork by creating an all-woman grassroots conservationist group called the ‘Hargila Army’ to save the bird from extinction in Assam’s Kamrup district.
“The award is really meant for the women in the community who have been my source of strength in the journey so far. It is a message from women from the country to the world how we through dedication and commitment can spur conservation efforts,” Barman said.
She was awarded the United Nations’ highest environmental honour – ‘Champions of the Earth’ in 2022.
The Indian High Commissioner in London will felicitate Barman on Friday, according to a release issued by the biodiversity organisation ‘Aaranyak’ of which she has been a member since 2002.
Aaranyak’s Secretary General Bibhab Kumar Talukdar said, “The achievement of Barman has encouraged all in the team to strive to excel in our relentless mission to nourish nature to secure the future of the animal kingdom on the planet.” Her ability to induce the community to put up sustained team efforts for the conservation of biodiversity has stood out across the planet and the award has reaffirmed it, he said.
Whitley Gold Award winners are international advocates for biodiversity, pioneering large-scale projects and acting as a mentor to new Whitley Award winners and the prestigious prize is worth Pound 100,000. PTI DG DG NN
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