Sultan Qaboos Prize for India’s Ashoka Trust

Award given on the recommendation of UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme

MUSCAT: An Indian institute has been awarded the Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation for 2019.

The award went to the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), and will see a grant of $100,000 for them by the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), at an award ceremony to be held in Budapest, Hungary, on 20 November.

Oman’s National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (NatCom) said in this context, “UNESCO has awarded the 2019 Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation to the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment of the Republic of India, on the recommendation of the jury of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme.”

“Established in 1996, the Ashoka Trust’s activities in the field of ecology and the environment are based on rigorous multidisciplinary research involving academics, policymakers, practitioners, researchers and students,” added Oman’s NatCom. “Its extraordinary work towards creating awareness about biodiversity in India, and committing its efforts to preparing interdisciplinary knowledge, education and preparing policies for environmental sustainability and socially equitable development.”

Based in the Indian city of Bengaluru, the prize is awarded to ATREE for its contribution in including the locals of the areas of Sikkim and Darjeeling in environmental conservation programmes they had begun in those areas, through programmes that involved conservation planning and the creation and promotion of sustainable livelihoods.

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