Naga conservationist, Nuklu Phom.
Morung Express News
Kohima | May 12
Naga conservationist, Nuklu Phom has won the prestigious Whitley Awards 2021 for his work- ‘Establishing a biodiversity peace corridor’. He is among the six winners including Lucy Kemp from South Africa, Pedro Fruet from Brazil, Kini Roesler from Argentina, Iroro Tanshi from Nigeria, and Sammy Safari from Kenya respectively.
The Whitley Award is one of the world’s leading prizes for grassroots conservation and every year, six grassroots are recognized with Whitley Awards that include prestigious prizes providing funding, training And profile. To celebrate the six 2021 winners and (Alumni) Gold Award recipient- Paula Kahumbu, Kenya, an online ceremony was scheduled to be hosted later on Wednesday night.
Phom along with Bibhuti Lahkar from Assam were the only Indians to feature in the list of 15 candidates that was announced in February this year. The top 15 candidates were identified based on their incredible work with communities to safeguard wildlife, habitats and the future of the society.
Giving a landscape view in its website, it has noted that unprecedented biodiversity, climate and health emergencies are unfolding around us, threatening the future of all life on earth and calls for seizing the moment.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take action: as world leaders prepare to renew environmental commitments at the forthcoming biodiversity COP15 and climate COP26 summits, Whitley Award winners are the grassroots changemakers turning political ambitions into a green reality,” it stated.
Earlier, on being shortlisted, Nuklu Phom told The Morung Express in an exclusive interview that it would mean a lot for the country, for the North East and especially for the people of Nagaland. He also thanked God for the passion and the conviction conferred on him to invest his life in a very humble manner for protection of the wonderful creation of God.
