Y Nuklu Phom, a church worker from Nagaland, won the Whitley Award 2021 for his efforts toward creating “Biodiversity Peace Corridor”, a network of community-owned forests in Nagaland and protecting the Amur Falcon. He is the only Indian to win the prestigious award.
- Biodiversity Peace Corridor is an extension of the “Yaongyimchen Community Biodiversity Area”, a ten-sq-km area in Yaongyimchen, Phom’s ancestral village in Longleng district, where he set up a community-based conservation model.
- The award to Y Nuklu Phom was donated by the MAVA Foundation.
- The Whitley Award is also known as the ‘Green Oscar’.
Biodiversity Peace Corridor:
i.The biodiversity peace corridor incorporates 16 villages across 4 districts of Nagaland.
ii.The team ensures that the area supports both biodiversity and livelihood by adopting the sustainable and non-extractive land-use practices.
About Whitley Award:
i.The award was established by Edward Whitley OBE in 1993.
ii.The award is annually presented to the individuals from the global south by Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).
iii.The award recognises the leading grassroot action benefiting the wildlife, habitats and people.
iv.Each winner receives 40000 pound (around RS 41 lakhs) in project funding over 1 year.
Note:
The first Whitley Award worth 15,000 Pound was awarded to marine conservationist Amanda Vincent.
Other winners of Whitley Award 2021:
- Lucy Kemp of South Africa
- Pedro Fruet of Brazil
- Kini Roesler of Argentina
- Iroro Tanshi of Nigeria
- Sammy Safari of Kenya
Whitley Gold Award 2021:
Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Kenya-based NGO Wildlife Direct, won the Whitley Gold Award, a cash prize of 100,000 Pound (around Rs 1 crore), for the contribution towards protecting the wildlife of Kenya.
Recent Related News:
The 39th edition of annual CERAWeek Conference 2021 was held virtually for the first time from March 1-5, 2021 where Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi was conferred with CERAWeek Global Energy and Environment Leadership Award. CERA stands for Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA).
About Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN):
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
