Charu Udaya, Vinayak Bagare, Keertan Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, surely the names do not ring a bell.
But, at the global biodiversity summit today, they were proud representatives of their community groups, receiving the India Biodiversity awards for sustained efforts to conserve forests and natural resources.
They represented Pir Jahania Jungle Suraksha Samithi, Odisha; Shankarpur Village Gram Panchayat, Maharashtra; Van Utthan Sansthan from Rajasthan and the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, respectively.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is partnering the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in supporting these awards. They will be an annual feature to mark the International Biodiversity Day on May 22, Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said.
The award carries Rs one lakh, a citation and recognises good practices in India — from community-run institutions, local self governance bodies, joint forest management committees and protected area management agencies.
Veerle Vandeweerd, UNDP Director, Environment and Energy Group, New York, told newspersons at the award presentation ceremony that UNDP currently works in 146 countries, managing 512 projects on ecosystems and biodiversity with $1.6 billion in funding from the Global Environment Facility and other sources and co-financing of $3.5 billion.
Somasekhar.m@thehindu.co.in