HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Nov 7: Assam’s senior conservation scientist, Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2024/25 Neville Shulman Award by the prominent environmental organisation Earthwatch Europe.
Dr Lahkar, a senior scientist at Aaranyak—one of the country’s leading biodiversity conservation organisations—is the only Indian to receive this honour this year. The award has also been conferred on two other scientists from other parts of the world.
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The Neville Shulman Earthwatch Awards offer individuals worldwide the opportunity to receive funding that enables them to undertake new, impactful research, increase local community engagement in environmental projects, and tackle some of the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Dr Lahkar, currently the head of Aaranyak’s Elephant Research and Conservation Division, has been tirelessly working on the conservation of Asian elephants and grassland management in Northeast India.
Dr Lahkar received the honour under the theme ‘Empowering Young Researchers to Shape the Future of Wildlife Conservation in Assam’.
“My project focuses on engaging young researchers in the conservation of wildlife and its habitat in Assam. I am committed to empowering and capacitating the youth, who can become future custodians of the rich biodiversity of Northeast India. I feel very privileged to receive this award and express my gratitude to Earthwatch for this support,” Dr Lahkar said upon being selected for the honour.
“The winners of the 2024/25 Neville Shulman Awards have now been chosen, and Earthwatch is thrilled to introduce them! They are three scientists undertaking research in Kenya and India. All three winners will receive grants from the Neville Shulman Awards to begin work on their proposed projects,” shared Earthwatch Europe on their official website.
Their research will focus on monitoring and restoring ecosystem health and engaging local communities, as well as the next generation of researchers, in conservation.
“In particular, the award seeks applications from early-career scientists addressing one or more of the following research areas: the impacts of climate change, wildlife and habitat loss, nature in cities, and freshwater pollution,” shared Earthwatch Europe.
