GUWAHATI: The two-day Eastern Himalayan NaturenomicsTM Forum 2016 organised here by Balipara Foundation culminated on Wednesday evening in presenting the prestigious annual Balipara Foundation Awards 2016 before a distinguished gathering at Vivanta by Taj in the city.
The Balipara Foundation Awards were launched in 2013 to honour individuals/organizations using the principles of NaturenomicsTM to create social, economic and environmental impact protecting essential natural resources and restoring the pristine beauty of the Eastern Himalayas.
This year’s Annual Balipara Foundation Award was presented to Sendenyu Community Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation Committee, Kohima, Nagaland while NaturenomicsTM Award was bagged by Hong Village Community, Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh. Noted RTI activist and green warrior Rohit Choudhury won the Green
Legal Award and Eastern Himalayan Conservation Award was presented to Miksak Apal Natural Resource Management Group, Meghalaya. Conservation worker Purnima Devi Barman who has been working for conservation of endangered Greater Adjutant Stork won the Green Guru Award.
Sandeep Gurung from Sikkim won the Young Naturalist Award and Food for the Future Award was presented to Robin Naiding from Karbi Anglong, Assam. An officer in Assam Police, Deben Bora was presented the Nature Conservancy Award for his single-minded mission towards thwarting rhino poaching attempts in Kaziranga National Park of
Assam. Dr Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha of Nepal was presented the Lifetime Service Award. Special award Rangers of the Eastern Himalayas were given to Jigme Dorji of Bhutan, Jayashree Naiding , IFS, Assam and Ramen Das, ACF, Assam.
The Founder and Managing Trustee of Balipara Foundation, Ranjit Barthakur said, “The awards are presented by Balipara Foundation to a government or non-government organization, whose contribution to the protection of wild nature has gone beyond the call of duty and which has displayed demonstrable success in the arena of nature conservation. This year we have sought to honour more such environmental entrepreneurs who serve as guardians of our natural inheritance in the Eastern Himalayas.”
The canvas for these awards includes highlighting the inspirational conservation work in Eastern Himalayan Region of India which ranges from the protecting endangered species and threatened habitats to promotion of environmental education and development of community-driven conservation. These entrepreneurs receive a Social Impact Recognition Award which comes with a Citation and a contribution to the organization or individual from Social Impact Recognition Fund of Balipara Foundation.
Past recipients of the Balipara Foundation Awards included stalwarts of Eastern Himalayan conservation such as B M Khaitan for his efforts in preservation of the natural habitats around the tea estates in North East India and Dasho Paljor Dorji for his successful efforts in pioneering Bhutan’s environmental programmes as well as inspirational young environmentalists like Thingam Girija.
