Arunachal project bags wildlife Green Oscar

A conservation project to save the endangered hornbills of Arunachal Pradesh has bagged the prestigious 295,000 pound-Whitley Award, commonly referred to as the 'Green Oscars' in the field of wildlife preservation.
Aparajita Datta's project, 'Threatened hornbills as icons for the conservation of the Himalayan forests', was the only Indian scheme among eight finalists for the annual awards ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society here yesterday.
"Whitley Award winners hail from all over the world and come from a range of backgrounds, but they all have in common a fierce commitment and determination to make a real difference to local people and wildlife in their home countries," Princess Anne, the charity's patron and Queen Elizabeth II's daughter, said at the ceremony.

"Every winner has a close connection with their community, as well as experience and an understanding of issues related to human-animal conflict, but they also know how to make an impact through practical solutions, engaging people and initiating change at government level. That's a rare skill," she added.
The other winners of this year's Green Oscars include a sea turtle conservation project from Bangladesh, great apes protection scheme in Cameroon and livestock preservation in Kenya.
"For 20 years now, the Whitley Awards have pioneered effective ways to protect wild nature. Perhaps the greatest legacy of the charity is the growing network of winners themselves who represent some of the best conservation leaders in the world," Sir David Attenborough, a Trustee of the Whitley Fund for Nature and famous wildlife expert, said.

"The range of challenges the winners face is remarkable, the solutions are diverse; and together their reach is truly global", he said.

This year, which marks the 20th anniversary of the Whitley Awards, saw a surge in applicants, with the highest number of entries yet to the scheme.
The awards are presented annually to outstanding grassroots leaders in nature conservation across the developing world.
The Whitley Fund for Nature has given almost 10 million pounds to conservation since its inception in 1994 and recognised 160 conservation leaders in more than 70 countries.