Guwahati, December 5 (MExN): Sangti Wanmai Konyak and Seno Tsuhah from Nagaland were among the winners of the 8th edition of the Balipara Foundation Awards on December 5.
The awards were conferred by the Balipara Foundation following the four-day virtual edition of the 8th Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum that brought together global leaders and experts to discuss the theme of ‘Ecology is Economy.’
Sangti Wanmai Konyak, a social worker, conservationist and filmmaker, received the Eastern Himalayan Conservation Award for his work— Nagaland: Biodiversity Conservation and Documentation and his mission to safeguard his community and the forests around it. His negotiations with the Nagaland government resulted in a law banning hunting between April and September in the region.
Seno Tsuhah, a farmer, primary school teacher and community development worker based in Chizami village in Phek district, shared the Naturenomics TM Award, with Jorjo Tana Tara of Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh, who tirelessly defends the forests of Arunachal Pradesh.
Seno also works with North East Network (NEN), a women’s organization working in Assam, Nagaland and Meghalaya, committed to gender justice, equality and human rights. Her engagement with ecological issues ranges from strategic policy advocacy with village institutions, state, regional and national networks, mobilizing young people in cultural and environmental audio-visual documentation and enabling women farmers in strengthening the practice of ecological farming and sustainable livelihoods.
Other awards conferred during the event included two Lifetime Service Awards, celebrating international and national achievements which went out to Tin Tin Saw from Myanmar for her work in stopping illegal logging and mining for construction in Kachin state of Myanmar and Dr Parimal Chandra Bhattacharjee, a respected academic and a retired Professor of Gauhati University, Assam who pioneered many wetland studies, primatology and biodiversity studies across north-east India, respectively.
This year’s Annual Balipara Foundation Awards jointly went to Trinity Saioo of Meghalaya and Association for Environmental Preservation, Mizoram, for work in organic farming and conservation action for wildlife respectively.
This was followed by the Green Guru Award to Nosang Limboo from Sikkim, who champions the cause of butterflies through his photography and writing, and the Akshar Foundation, whose model of “meta-teaching” has been recognized by the UN.
The Food for the Future Award was given out to Parimal Das of Tripura for organic dragon fruit plantation in his state, and the Nature Conservancy Award went out to Arannayk Foundation, Bangladesh: Habitat Restoration, Climate Mitigation & Natural Resource Management
As part of the event, the 8th Rabindranath Barthakur Memorial Lecture was delivered by renowned Indian historian and author, Rudrangshu Mukherjee, who underscored that “There has to be a balance of some kind between development and the sustenance of nature. This has not become a movement, a campaign, on how we strike this balance and the steps we take to maintain this balance.”
Closing the evening, Balipara Foundation founder, Ranjit Barthakur, highlighted the need for more changemakers to be inspired across the region, the urgent need for collaboration across borders and to transform how we value nature.
Through the Balipara Foundation Awards, the Foundation recognizes extraordinary visionaries of the Eastern Himalayas and their indomitable contribution in empowering, engaging, sensitizing their communities towards environmental protection and create opportunities for rural livelihoods.
These awardeess 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.
