Environment Awards in 2020.

List of Padma Awardees 2020 who have been conferred Padma Awards for their work in the field of Environment.

1.Padma Bhushan

Anil Prakash Joshi

• A veteran Environmental Activist and Botanist impacted over 10,000 villages in Himalayan region through his Himalayan Environmental Studies & Conservation Organisation (HESCO).
• The Govt. Of India awarded him Padma Shri in 2006 for his contribution to human society. He is now awarded with Padma Bhushan 2020 for Social work in Uttarakhand.

2.Pamda Shri

i)Pawar Popatrao Bhaguji

• Model Sarpanch of Hiware Bazaar village in Ahmedanagar district who transformed it from a drought-prone village into a green role model of Gram Swaraj.
•  He won his first national award for community led water conservation in 2007 by demonstrating how rural water resources could be revived.

ii)Usha Chaumar

• Usha Chaumar used to work asmanual scavenger, and through decades of service has risen to become President of Sulabh International, at the forefront of Environmental Sanitation – a Dalit lady who’s life is an embodiment of strong will and empowerment.

iii)Praeep Thalappil

• Senior Materials Scientists and Professor at IIT Madras who is also known for his pioneering contrubution of using nanotechnology for purifying water for drinking purpose and especially for arsenic removal.

iv)Sundaram Verma

• Farmer who grew 50,000 trees in the arid Shekawati region of Rajasthan using a water-saving technique – dryland agroforestry – that requires only 1 litre of water per tree.
• He has also set up 6 nurseries, distributing 1,50,000 sampling among farmers.

v)Himmata Ram Bhambhu

• He is a farmer and environmentalist who have developed a unique integrated agro-forestry plantation and biodiversity conservation centre and he has created green patch in desert area of Nagaur district which has become a unique rehabilitation centre for peacocks.

vi)Trinity Saioo

• Tribal woman farmer from the Jaintia Hills, who spearheaded the women-ledTurmeric farming movement in Meghalaya, enabling the women farmers to triple their incomes.
•  Impoverished women coming together to create a sustainable economy.

vii)Chintala Venkat Reddy

• Progressive Organic Farmer from Telangana – developed new fruit varieties and brands of organic produce.
• He is first independent farmer in India to receive an international patentfor his technique in soil swapping & soil fertility.

viii)Radhammohan & Sabarmatee

• Gandhian father-daughter duo of farmers from Odisha – enabling farmers across the country to take to sustainable organic farming.
• They credited with transforming a degraded piece of land into a vast food forest using only organic techniques.

ix)Batakrushna Sahoo

• Successful innovative fresh water Aquaculturist from Khordha, Orissa – respected for his vision for local fish species and strengthening the local economy.
• He promotes aqua-farmers to adopt scientific technologies to improve the fish production of the state and country.

x)Chewang Motup Goba

• Founder of Rimo Expedition – an Eco-adventure company that pioneered adventure sports in Ladakh.
• His company’s guides rescued hundreds of people when climate change-triggered disasters struck in Ladakh. Motub is Mountaineer, Entrepreneur and Climate Change Activist.

xi)Tulasi Gowda

• An Indian Environmentalist from Honnali village in Karnataka state, honoured with the Padma Award.
•  Famous as Encyclopedia of Forest due to her vast knowledge of diverse species of plants and herbs.

xii)Rahibai Soma Popere

• An Indian farmer and conservationist. Seed Mother – self taught tribal woman farmer from Ahmedanagar, famous globally for her work in agro-biodiversity conservation.
• She was among three Indians on the BBC list of 100 Women 2018.

xiii)Kalyan Singh Rawat

• Environmentalist and Founder President of Himalayan Vanya Jeev Sansthan – famous for initiating Maiti movement across 6,000 villages, more than five lakh sapling were planted across the state.

xiv)Madhu Mansuri Hasmukh

• He is known as the Father of Modern Nagpuri Lok Sangeet, but is actually known for his tribal folk songs which celebate Nature and the natural beauty of Jharkhand state.

xv)Kushal Konwar Sarma

• Veterinarian in Guwahati who has devoted his life to the conservation of Asian Elephants.
• Popularly known as Hati Doctor.
• Dr. Sarma is a member of the steering Committee, Project Elephant of the MoEFCC.

                                         National Water Awards 2020.

The winners of the National Water Awards for the year 2019 have been declared. The awards are given in several categories such as ‘Best State’, ‘Best District’, ‘Best School’, ‘Best Newspaper’, ‘Best NGO’, ‘Best Industry’, etc. with sub-categories also.

Highlights:

♦ The Best State Awards for first 3 positions were backed Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

♦ Special Category States  – 1st place is given  to Mizoram 

 ♦ Best District Awards in Revival of Rivers and Water Conservation were given to:

♦ Ayodhya and Almora – North

  ♦ Vellore and YSR Kadapa – South

 ♦ Sangli and Kachchh – West

♦ Bilaspur and Surajpur – East 

 ♦ West Tripura (WC) – Northeast

 ♦ Khandana and Vizianagaram – Aspirational district catego

Kannan CS Warrior received 2019 National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Research in Forestry Award.

Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) awarded Kannan C S Warrier, Senior principal of Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) scientist, the National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Research in Forestry for the year 2019. 

Highlights:

♦ Kannan C S Warrier was awarded for releasing three productive clones of casuarina, known as kattadi and savukku.

• The clones were found suitable for salt-affected soils for the first time in the country. It should be noted that around 6.73 million hectares are salt-affected land in India.

 ♦ Warrier has 27 years of forestry research experience and has published 232 research articles.

 ♦ The clones are expected to boost ICFRE’s agro forestry initiatives.

♦ Warrier holds a doctoral degree in forest genetics. He is a first rank holder in BSc and MSc forestry at Kerala Agricultural University.

• Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE): ICFRE functions under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
• The autonomous organization was established in 1986. It is headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• It conducts research in forestry, transfers the technologies developed to the states of India and other user agencies. It also aims to impart forestry education.

                        Indian American Soil Scientist wins 2020 World Food Prize Award.

• Indian-American soil scientist Dr. Rattan Lal has won the prestigious 2020 World Food Prize, which is considered to be equivalent to a Nobel Prize in the field of agriculture.
• The award recognized his contribution to increasing the global food supply by helping small farmers improve the health of the soil. The award also highlights the importance of managing & restoring soil health.
• Dr.Rattan Lal: Dr.Rattan Lal was awarded for his role in developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increase food production that restores and conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change.
• . Lal is a Distinguished Professor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University. World Food Prize: World Food Prize was first awarded in 1987.
• The award is presented by the World Food Prize Foundation, with various sponsor companies. The award recognizes contributions that are made in the various field involved in the world food supply including Animal Science/Aqua Culture, Food Technology/Food Safety, Nutrition/Health, Plant Science/Seed Science, Plant Pathology/Crop Protection, Soil Science/Water/Conservation,  Policy/Research/Extension, Infrastructure/Emergency Relief, and Poverty and Hunger Alleviation.
• The first awardee of the award is an Indian agricultural scientist Dr. M S Swaminathan, who is the father of the Green Revolution in India.

     Jadhav Payeng to be conferred 2020 Swami Vivekanand Karmayogi Award.

• Padma Shri Jadav Payeng will be conferred with the Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award on 29 February in New Delhi at a function instituted by My Home India.
•  He was awarded the 6th Karmayogi Award for his consistent efforts in creating a real man-made forest through massive reforestation.
•  The award is composed of a trophy, a recitation and a reward of Rs 1 lakh. Jadav Payeng: Jadav Payeng is famously known as the Forest Man of India.
• Padma Shri Jadav Payeng is an environmental activist and forest worker from Jorhat.
• In the past several years, he has planted and tended trees on a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra turning it into a forest reserve.

 Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award:

• Swami Vivekananda Smriti Karmayogi Award is organized by My Home India in New Delhi.
• The award was conferred for the first time in 2013.
•  Karmayogi Award is presented to great personalities from North-Eastern India who dedicate their lives to Nation and promote Nationalism through art & culture, sports, education, etc. for their contribution to respective fields.

              Indian Environmental Economist Pavan Sukhdev won 2020 Tyler Prize.

• Renowned Indian environmental economist and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Goodwill Ambassador Pavan Sukhdev won the 2020 Tyler Prize.
• He won the Nobel Prize for the environment for his groundbreaking green economy work. He was acknowledged for his work on bringing the economic consequences of environmental degradation and loss to the attention of corporate and political decision-makers.

            Dibrugarh Distt won Plastic Waste Management Award.

• Assam’s Dibrugarh district won the Plastic Waste Management Award 2020.
•  It was awarded for being the best district of India in the plastic waste management category during Swachhta Hi Sewa 2019.
• The award was received by Pallav Gopal Jha, Deputy Commissioner from renowned Bollywood actor Amir Khan at a function held at Pride Plaza, Aerocity in Delhi.
• The award recognizes the innovative and effective efforts taken by the district in managing plastic waste in rural areas of the district.
• The function was organized by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Swachhta hi Seva 2019:

• Swachhta hi Seva 2019 is a nationwide awareness and mobilization campaign on Swachhta.
• It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mathura on 11 September 2019.
• Under the campaign, massive awareness and mobilization programs were organized in the Dibrugarh district.
• The campaign was aimed to generate awareness on single-use plastic waste collection, segregation and effective disposal under the Swachh Bharat Mission-G (SBM).

                UNEP’s2020 Young Champions of the Earth Award

The United Nations Environment Programme recently named seven dynamic Environmentalists as its Young Champions of the Earth.

The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year to seven entrepreneurs under the age of thirty. These entrepreneurs should have bold ideas for sustainable environmental change. The winners of the award receive mentoring, seed funding, communications support to amplify their efforts.

The Young Champions award aims to inspire more young people to get closer to the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26, that is to be held in Glasgow in November 2021) and the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (to be held in Kunming in May 2021.

• Vidyut Mohan of India- He is the co-founder of Takachar. He has built affordable and portable biomass upgrading equipment. It allows farmers to prevent open burning by converting crop to fuels, activated carbon and fertilizers.

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve receives first TX2 International Award for doubling its population.

The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department bagged the first international award TX2. The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was awarded for doubling its number of tigers in four years. The target set was to double the numbers in ten years. The target was set by the partners of the award in 2010. The partners are Global Tiger Forum, United Nations Development Programme, Conservation Tiger Standards and Lion’s Share.

Eight Indian Beaches to get Blue Flag International Eco Label.

On September 19, 2020, the Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that 8 Indian beaches have been recommended for the Blue Flag International Eco label. The eight beaches that received the flag are Shivrajpur in Gujarat, Kasarkod and padubidri in Karnataka, Golden Beach in Odisha, Radha Nagar in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goghla in Daman and Diu, Kappad in Kerala, Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh.