The Balipara Foundation Awards in association with Sanctuary Asia and Aaranyak honoured some of the Northeast's most dedicated eco-warriors to draw focus to their work and encourage others to follow their path. The awards were held on April 12, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at Pragjyotish ITA Centre, Guwahati and were preceded by a wildlife photography exhibition.
Speaking on the occasion, Ranjit Barthakur, Founder, the Balipara Foundation, said, “We want to live, love, and learn from nature and work towards creating an interdependence between nature and economics."
He was seconded by Bittu Sahgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia who said, “The Eastern Himalaya is one of the most biodiverse regions of India, but this is precisely where the effects of climate change will be most visible in India. Melting glaciers, vanishing forests, dammed rivers and displaced human communities will combine to change the sociology of the seven sisters in ways that no one even dreamed possible. The only real way to ward off the worst effects of climate change is to work to restore natural ecosystems, which will not only create lakhs of jobs, but also help control floods and droughts. The first visible sign of our success will be the return of biodiversity because it is only wild species, ranging from elephants, tigers and rhinos to birds, butterflies, fish -- the gardeners of our eden -- that can truly help regenerate ecosystems. This is the heart of the Naturenomics manifesto."
Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Ph.D. Secretary General, Aaranyak, said, It is incredible that we are recognising the contribution made by people in Assam towards conservation. These people have devoted their time and energy to the cause, often in addition to their normal jobs to usher a new era of hope in the field of wildlife, forest and environment protection in the Northeast.
The Award Categories included a Lifetime Service Award given to Anne Wright, a Green Guru Award presented to Uttam Teron, a Food for the Future Award given to Neelam Dutta, a Nature Conservancy Award presented to the Karbi Anglong Police Department:, a Young Naturalist Award presented to Munjali Tokbipi, a Naturenomics Award given to Arindam Dasgupta, a Green Legal Award presented to Gautam Uzir, an Ecological Restoration Award given to Jadav Payeng, an Eastern Himalayan Conservation Award given to Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhury and an Annual Balipara Foundation Award presented to William Oliver.
The Balipara Foundation Awards were presented by a host of renowned individuals including Nandini Dutta, Chairperson, Crafts Council of Assam; Padmashri Award Winner Sentila Yanger, Founder, Tribal Weave; talented filmmaker Jahnu Barua; Shri Naba Kr. Das, Chief Secretary, Assam; nature architect Prabhat Dey; leading homeopath Dr. Pratip Bannerjee and former Agriculture Secretary, Bhaskar Barua. Tarun Gogoi, Assam's dynamic Chief Minister was also a part of the programme.
Source: Sanctuary Asia.
