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Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Purashkar for Aaranyak

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Feb 4 � Aaranyak, a nature conservation body of the North-east set up in 1989, was awarded the 2012 Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Purashkar by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, at an event in New Delhi on Monday.

Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, secretary general and CEO of Aaranyak, received the award from the Secretary, MoEFCC, Ashok Lavasa, at the Ganga Auditorium of the Ministry.

The recipient was chosen after a series of evaluation, and finally a committee headed by the Vice President of India, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and three other expert members decided to award Aaranyak as an organisation for the IGPP, 2012.

The ministry credited Aaranyak with having done a commendable job in conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of the rich natural resources, not only in the North-east but all over the country and abroad.

Addressing the media today, Dr Talukdar gave an account of Aaranyak�s activities.

�We have the strength of 65 fulltime professionals, over a hundred conservation volunteers and a few hundred members, offering their professional as well as voluntary service in the field of nature conservation. Aaranyak�s seven main programmes are focused on protecting biodiversity in different arenas through advanced scientific research, legal action, policy advocacy and reform, negotiations with government agencies both at the Central, State and local levels and industry,� he said.

While Aaranyak�s flagship programme named North East Threatened Species Conservation Programme undertakes work on research, monitoring and conservation of threatened species such as the greater one-horned rhino, tiger, elephant, Gangetic dolphin, hoolock gibbon, Bengal Florican, greater adjutant stork, herpetofauna, etc., its Environment Education and Capacity Building Programme is involved in conservation education for different target groups like students, youths, teachers, journalists, policy-makers and others regarding preservation and restoration of ecological balance.

�Aaranyak�s Community Based Conservation Programme with a view to securing community support in the conservation of biodiversity has evolved pilot initiatives to support diversified livelihood options to strengthen the local economy, while the Legal and Advocacy Programme has been offering legal orientation for forest officials and other law enforcement authorities, in order to increase the rate of conviction as part of anti-poaching efforts,� Dr Talukdar said, adding that its Water Climate and Hazard Programme carries out intensive scientific studies on the key issues related to water and climate of the region, including human and societal aspects.

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