TN Khoshoo Memorial Award and Lecture
About the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award
The TN Khoshoo Memorial Award was instituted in 2004 to honour the legacy of the world-renowned environmental scientist, Dr Triloki Nath Khoshoo. Dr Khoshoo was first Secretary of the Indian Government’s newly created Department of Environment, in 1982. He played a significant role in the development of India's environmental policy. In 1996, along with Dr Kamaljit S Bawa, Dr Khoshoo founded ATREE.
The annual T N Khoshoo Memorial Award is given to an academician or a practitioner whose work has had an impact in the fields of environment, conservation, or development. The TN Khoshoo Memorial Award was started by the Khoshoo family and ATREE to honour Dr Khoshoo’s legacy. Through the TN Khoshoo Endowment Fund, the award, each year, encourages and promotes individuals for outstanding achievements in the field of conservation and sustainable development. The fund is sponsored by Dr Khoshoo’s family, ATREE, the Ford Foundation, the Institute of Rural Research and Development (an initiative of the SM Sehgal Foundation), and other philanthropists. The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 100,000.
The 17th T N Khoshoo award presentation and lecture event took place online owing to the pandemic. It was centred around ‘The Science and Art of Outreach for the Environment’. Licipriya Kangujam was the recipient of the 2020 edition and the keynote speaker was Grammy Award winning musician and environmentalist Ricky Kej.
Licipriya Kangujam, 9 - year old Climate Activist Founder, The Child Movement was awarded the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, for having ‘achieved monumental impact while campaigning for climate change at the young age of 9.’
Instituted by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) the award was presented to Licipriya in recognition of her campaigning for climate action in India for the past 3 years and to pass new laws to curb India’s high pollution levels and to make climate change literacy mandatory in schools.
Licipriya Kangujam is also the Founder of The Child Movement, a body that aims to raise awareness ‘to protect the planet by tackling climate change and natural disasters’.
Accepting the award, Licipriya dedicated it to all the climate activists of the world. Urging the audience to action, she said it was possible to change the world starting first with one’s neighbourhood. Linking her activism to social justice saying ‘change means empowerment, empowerment means independent, independent means freedom, freedom is when you can protect your land and environment, freedom is when you can protect your children's future , culture and health, freedom is when no one can discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex or any other differences, freedom is when you can read and write, freedom is when you’re out of hunger’.
Khoshoo Endowment Committee
- Mr Rajiv Khoshoo (Chair), senior vice president, Portfolio Management, Siemens PLM Software
- Dr Kamal Bawa, Founder Trustee and President, ATREE; Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston.
- Mr Joss Brooks, founder, Pitchandikulam Forest Consultants
- Dr Nitin Pandit, Director, ATREE
Year | Awardees | Chief Guest | Guest Lecture |
2020 | Licipriya Kangujam, 9 - year old Climate Activist Founder, The Child Movement | Keynote speaker was Grammy Award winning musician and environmentalist Ricky Kej | |
2019 | Meena Subramanium, Artist and Conservationist | Keynote speaker: Jonathan Baillie, the executive vice president and chief scientist of National Geographic | |
2018 | Dr. Rajeswari S. Raina, Professor with the Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Shiv Nadar University | Panel discussed why women are still under leveraged despite being critical to supporting the three pillars of sustainable development - economic, environmental and social | |
2017 | Sonam Wangchuk, Founder, SECMOL | Keynote speaker: Mr Anshu Gupta, Founder, Goonj | |
2016 | K.J. Joy, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi | Panel Discussion on "Is interlinking of rivers the solution to India's water problems?" | |
2015 | Navroz Dubash, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi | Panel discussion on the topic: ‘Looking beyond Paris: Strategies for an equitable and low-carbon future’ | |
2014 | Mahesh Rangarajan, Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi | Shri Jairam Ramesh | Panel discussion on the topic: ‘Challenges to conservation in the context of a pro-growth development agenda’ |
2013 | Avani, civil society organization, Kumaon Himalaya | His Holiness, the Dalai Lama | |
2012 | Vidya Athreya | Dr. Madhav Gadgil Professor, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science; and Chairman, Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, Global Environment Facility | |
2011 | Sandeep Tambe For his efforts in sustainability and community-based governance of commonproperty resources in Sikkim. ...more & Hemlata Pradhan For her documentation of Indian orchids ...more |
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Elinor Ostrom 2009 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, Distinguished Professor, Indiana University, Bloomington Founding Director, Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity, Arizona State University, Tempe |
2010 | Joss Brooks For his work on eco-restoration initiatives ...more & Girish Sant For his work on research, training, and advocacy on policy issues ...more |
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Dr. R K Pachauri Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute, Delhi. Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute |
2009 | Ashish Kothari For his work on conservation and livelihood issues ...more & Charudutt Mishra For his work on usage of natural resources and human-wildlife conflicts ...more |
Shri Shyam Saran Special Envoy of the Prime Minister on Climate Change Issues |
Dr. Charles Perrings Professor of Environmental Economics at Arizona State University |
2008 | Ms Rebecca Pradhan For her contribution to conservation of Bhutan's biodiversity ...more |
Shri Digvijay Singh Senior Congress (I) politician |
Dr. Ramachandra Guha Author and Historian |
2007 | Dr. B. R. Ramesh For his contribution to the application of technology for effective conservation ...more |
Dr. Jairam Ramesh Minister of State for Commerce |
Prof. M. S. Swaminathan Founder and Chairman M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation |
2006 | Dr. Anupam Mishra For his contribution to environment protection and water conservation ...more |
Mr. M. C. Mehta Supreme Court Lawyer |
Prof. David W. Ehrenfeld Distinguished Professor of Biology at Rutgers |
2005 | Ms. Nafisa Barot For her work in Gujarat with local communities to achieve self-reliance ...more & Dr. Anil P. Joshi For his work to promote sustainable livelihoods in the Himalayas ...more |
Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, GoI |
Dr. Sam Pitroda Chairman, World Tel Ltd., and National Knowledge Commission |
2004 | Dr. R. Sukumar For his contribution to the conservation of Asian elephants ...more |
Dr. M. G. K. Menon, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professor, ISRO |
Dr. Peter H. Raven President, Missouri Botanical Gardens, St Louis |
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2020
Licipriya Kangujam is also the Founder of The Child Movement, a body that aims to raise awareness ‘to protect the planet by tackling climate change and natural disasters’.
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2019
Meena Subramanium, artist and conservationist
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2018
Rajeswari S. Raina (Ph.D. Economics) is a Professor with the Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Shiv Nadar University, and Associate Director of the University’s Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory (C-PACT). She is a keen student of the interface between development policy and knowledge - formal organized science and technology as well as unorganized situated local knowledge systems. Her current research focuses on (a) Institutions and ways of knowing sustainability and complexity, (b) Theoretical and policy challenges in millet-based nutrition programmes, (c) Innovation for inclusive development in India and China, and (d) Changes in the knowledge-policy-practice continuum in agriculture-environment relationships.
She is a well published researcher, advisor to and participant in several environment-and-development programmes, public policy and scientific research programmes, both national and international, community-led and government or donor-led. As an active member of networks and professional societies on rural innovation, agrarian and rural studies, science-technology-society studies, rainfed agriculture, agroecology, institutional economics, ecological economics, and water, she is an ardent advocate of a bio-economic approach to a prosperous, equitable and sustainable world.
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2017
Sonam Wangchuk
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2016
K.J. Joy
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2015
Navroz Dubash
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2012
Vidya Athreya
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2011
Sandeep Tambe
Sandeep Tambe is Special Secretary in the Department of Rural Management and Development, Government of Sikkim. He has been responsible for the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), for which, today, Sikkim has achieved 85 days of ensured employment, against the national average of 47 days. Sikkim also scores high on the transparency safeguards front, having a universal coverage of independent, quality social audits. Sandeep Tambe has been actively involved in the revival of springs, streams and lakes in drought prone areas of the state that has contributed rural water security. Before this, during his stint in the Forest Department and The Mountain Institute, Tambe was instrumental in initiating participatory protection of the biodiversity rich protected areas of Sikkim. This initiative, taken up in partnership with eco-development committees and local NGOs, has resulted in a measurable reduction of the threats to forests and wildlife. Sandeep Tambe is a member of the Indian Forest Service. He graduated from IIT Mumbai, did his MSc from the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (FRI) and has a Ph.D. from the Wildlife Institute of India. He is photography, alpine flowers and trekking enthusiast.
Hemlatha Pradhan
Hemlata Pradhan’s aim is to ‘highlight India’s wild orchids and other plants in nature to bring about an awareness of what we are unwittingly losing…’ Hemlata Pradhan is a botanical illustrator, who comes from a family that has been raising orchids for five generations. She graduated with a diploma in Botanical Illustration with distinction from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, and a Master's degree in Natural History Illustration and Ecological Studies from the Royal College of Art, London. She is the winner of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gold Medal as well as the 18th world Orchid Conference Gold Medal for her paintings of Indian Jewel Orchids and the Indian Wild Orchids. Her works are housed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England and were exhibited at the British Museum's Clore Education Centre in 2009. Her orchid paintings also appear on a set of six postage stamps of Bhutan. Hemlata Pradhan is passionate about the conservation of endangered orchids and other Indian plants. At present, she is involved in setting up a Natural History Art Institute in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, West Bengal, and getting Natural History Illustration recognition as a Fine Art subject in India. She is the First Honorary Secretary and Member of the ISROSG- Indian Sub-Continent Regional Orchid Specialist Group of the IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources/SSC-Species Survival Commission and the Trustee President of the Himalayan Trust for Natural History Art, Kalimpong, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, West Bengal, India.
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2010
Joss Brooks
Joss Brooks came to Auroville near Pondicherry in 1970 to participate in the early pioneering work of the newborn community. In 1973 he established Pitchandikulam, dedicated to restoring the eroded 60 acres of Auroville Green Belt land. Now it is a vibrant forest with more than 600 species of plants, many with medicinal value, and a nursery that grows the endangered species of the almost extinct Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest found along the Coromandel Coast. In 1993, associating with the Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), he developed the medicinal plant conservation park at Pitchandikulam. In 2002, the Nadukuppam Environment Education Centre was founded at a government high school near the wetland, from where a team of environmental education teachers from local villages began to work with school children, women’s groups and farmers to implement eco-restoration initiatives. In 2004, Pitchandikulam Forest Consultants was created to implement restoration work in other areas of Tamil Nadu, including the city of Chennai. A 12-acre garbage dump at Otteri in North Chennai has been transformed into a green lung of indigenous vegetation. In 2005, the Pitchandikulam team began work on a master plan for a 350-acre wetland site at the Adyar estuary. Over the following years, the typical urban wasteland of garbage and sewage has changed into an example of species regeneration, practical environmental education and citizen-government collaboration. The Adyar Poonga wetland restoration project is still very much underway, yet evolving into a crucial larger initiative to cleanse and transform the other polluted waterways of Chennai.
Girish Sant
Girish Sant is co-founder of Prayas, a non-profit organization based in Pune, whose Energy Group initiatives he coordinates. He has been involved in research, training, and advocacy on policy issues in the power sector for the last seventeen years. His interest in energy policy started with his involvement in the Sardar Sarovar Project and on nuclear power. His present work relates to issues of renewable energy policy, oil and gas policy as well as the international context of energy-climate linkages. He has a keen interest in realizing the massive potential of energy efficiency and pro-people energy policy, by promoting innovative policy options. Girish Sant is a member of the Planning Commission’s Expert Group on ‘Low Carbon Growth’, and has also served on ‘Working Group on Power’ for the 11th Plan, PMO committee on the draft National Energy Efficiency Mission, Advisory Committee of Central Electricity Regulatory Commissions, and Supreme Court Committee on Energy from Municipal Solid Waste. In 2008, he received the Distinguished Energy Alumnus Award of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay. Prayas Energy Group does analysis-based advocacy to further public interest in the electricity sector. Prayas has played a significant role in advancing transparency and accountability among electricity regulatory commissions and continues to intervene in regulatory cases in the state of Maharashtra, appellate tribunal and in the Supreme Court. Prayas, along with the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, coordinates the Electricity Governance Initiative, which is a global coalition of civil society groups committed to improving governance in the power sector. GirishSant underscored the collective nature of Prayas’ workby accepting the award as part of Prayas (Energy Group).
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2009
Ashish Kothari
Ashish Kothari is an environmentalist who works at the grass roots level with various people's movements as well as with various government committees and international associations. He is a founding member of Kalpavriksh, an Indian environmental NGO active on conservation and livelihood issues since 1979. The T. N. Khoshoo Memorial Award in Conservation recognises not only Ashish's outstanding contributions to conservation, but also those of Kalpavriksh. Ashish's interest in environmental and developmental issues related to big dam projects motivated him to participate in people's movements such as the Narmada Bachao Andolan and at the same time be a member of the Environmental Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects, Government of India, from 1993 to 1995. He has contributed to environmental policy formulation and governance by being member of various influential government committees. He has advocated a socially and culturally more sensitive process of wildlife conservation for the last twenty years. He has been able to direct this interest to serving as the Co-Chair of the IUCN Inter-Commission Theme on Indigenous/Local Communities, Equity, and Protected Areas (TILCEPA) and other such similar groups. Over and above his role as Coordinator, Project on Community Based Conservation in South Asia, Kalpavriksh, and International Institute of Environment and Development, London, Ashish has associated with other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as Greenpeace, Centre for Communication and Development Studies and Bombay Natural History Society, in various capacities. Ashish is also a prolific writer, having authored or edited 25 books, and over 150 articles, on environment, development, and conservation issues.
Charudutt Mishra
Charudutt Mishra is a conservation scientist who has tried to understand and work on various areas related to the usage of natural resources, the human impacts of natural resource use, and human-wildlife conflicts. He is the Science and Conservation Director of the Snow Leopard Trust (SLT), and one of the founders of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). He served as NCF's Executive Director between 2002 and 2008, and also headed the India Program of the SLT. He serves on the editorial board of the journal Animal Conservation and is a member of the IUCN's Cat Specialist Group. He has a Ph.D. in Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation from the Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University (The Netherlands). Charu's chief academic interests lie in understanding pastoralism and resource use, human impacts on wildlife, ecology of human-wildlife conflicts, large herbivore community ecology, and carnivore ecology. Charu also tries to dedicate time and effort to extend conservation science for societal welfare, on-ground conservation, and policy. His recent work involves setting up community-based wildlife conservation and conflict-resolution programs, conducting research and exploration, teaching and guiding Ph.D. students, and working with governments to set up wildlife reserves and formulate conservation policy. His current work spans the Himalaya and several Central Asian countries where he is involved in guiding research and conservation efforts. He was involved in post-conflict wildlife assessments in Afghanistan on behalf of the United Nations. Expeditions led by him in Arunachal Pradesh led to the discovery of the Arunachal macaque, M. munzala, a primate new to science. Charu is a recipient of the Whitley Gold Award in 2005 and the Golden Ark Award in 2008.
Recipient of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2008
Rebecca Pradhan
A repository of knowledge on the flora and fauna found throughout the Himalayas, Rebecca Pradhan, can easily recount the genus and species of over 90% of Bhutan's plant life off the top of her head. Rebecca is a true naturalist, working and writing about birds as easily as about plants. While her academic qualifications include a B.Sc and a post graduation in Library Science, whatever she has learnt about plants and animals has been through a process of self-education. Impressed by her knowledge, Rebecca was invited to spend two terms as a Mercer Fellow of Arnold Arboretum in Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. With her vast botanical knowledge, innate skill and passion, Rebecca has already impacted conservation efforts in Bhutan. Originally from Kalimpong in India, Rebecca, has been living and working in Bhutan for many years. Starting her career as a school teacher in 1972, Rebecca moved on as the Head of the Herbarium and Forestry Research Library, Department of Forestry, Royal Government of Bhutan in 1985. Since 2000 she has worked as an Ecologist with the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN), Bhutan, where she is at present involved with the White-bellied Heron Project and in conducting biodiversity surveys of RSPN conservation areas. Over the years, Rebecca, has also been closely involved in a number of surveys to study and document the flora and fauna of Bhutan. Rebecca has written extensively about the extraordinary biological richness of the north-eastern Himalayas, and particularly Bhutan, a region of which our knowledge is very meagre. She is the author of the books 'Wild Rhododendrons of Bhutan' and 'Threatened Birds in Bhutan'. She is also the principal compiler and data contributor of the Important Bird Areas of Bhutan for the Birdlife Conservation Series 'Important Bird Areas in Asia.' She has also produced a DVD on the ecology of the white-bellied heron. Rebecca has done much more than her written papers would indicate; for example she has discovered new species of bamboos, oaks and other plant groups. In her work she is involved with wildlife officials, community members and non-governmental organisations, and also teaches school children about wildlife in her spare time. Rebecca's immense knowledge of the biota and ecosystems of the eastern Himalayas is vital to the future of Bhutan's resources. And she herself is committed to advancing further the knowledge about and the conservation of the pristine forests of Bhutan.
Recipient of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2007
Dr. B.R. Ramesh
A scientist and conservationist, Dr. B.R. Ramesh has contributed greatly to the application of new technologies for effective conservation. He completed his M.Sc. Botany at Bangalore University before doing a Ph.D. in Ecology at University of Madras. A taxonomist by training he has been working at the French Institute of Pondicherry (an autonomous Research Organization under the Ministry of French Foreign Affairs) since 1982. He is currently the Director of Research in the Ecology Department. His research interests include phytogeography, landscape ecology, community ecology, conservation biology, and forest management. He continues to actively train the younger generation and forest officials in field ecology and taxonomy. Most of his work has been carried out in the Western Ghats, which is considered a biodiversity hotspot. He has published over 25 research papers, 6 books, 2 CD ROMS, 7 vegetation maps and 1 atlas. His vegetation maps of the Western Ghats and Atlas of Endemic tree species have become classic baseline reference materials for foresters, ecologists and conservationists. He has studied the plant diversity across different ecosystems to develop biological indicator values for measuring disturbance in ecosystems. Using Geographical Information Systems he has developed wildlife management models for a Tiger Reserve and for several Wildlife Sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. His studies have shown that despite large-scale disturbance, considerable amount of undisturbed forest areas exist in Kerala and these forest patches need management attention. As an expert consultant to Kerala Forest Department, he reviewed biodiversity components of Kerala Forestry Project, developed 'biodiversity conservation strategy and action plans' for the forestry sector as well as rationalized the existing protected area network in order to cover the substantial gaps in conservation. Going one step further, he developed an alternative model of integrated forest management using a landscape approach that would address not only biodiversity conservation but also socio-economic issues of local communities and other stakeholders. [Dr. B. R. Ramesh continues as the Director of Research, Department of Ecology at the French Institute of Pondicherry. The book Forest landscapes of the Southern Western Ghats, India: Biodiversity, human ecology and management strategies edited by him along with Rajan Gurukkal was released in 2007.]
Recipient of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2006
Dr. Anupam Mishra
A Gandhian and an environmental activist Anupam Mishra has spent decades in the field of environment protection and water conservation and is among the most knowledgeable persons in India on traditional water harvesting systems. He has travelled to various part of the country, especially Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, visiting various water harvesting systems managed by people. Dr. Mishra has interacted with grassroots-level water harvesters, inspired and supported them and helped them in their traditional water harvesting systems campaign. Winner of the Indira Gandhi National Environment Award, Mishra has been associated with the Gandhi Peace Foundation since its inception. He has authored two books on traditional water management and water harvesting systems in India, titled Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab (Ponds are Still Relevant) and Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boonde (The Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan). Dr. Mishra continues to travel to different parts of the country, while keeping in touch with grassroot-level water harvesters and NGOs and inspiring them. The mission of the Gandhi Peace Foundation is to promote the environmental activities of rural development agencies; to prepare survey reports on distressed areas and place them before concerned authorities; to disseminate environmental information through the publication of up-to-date reports on environmental issues; to organise workshops and seminars for environmental experts, policy makers, individuals and organizations engaged in environmental issues. [Dr. Anupam Mishra continues his association with the Gandhi Peace Foundation working in the field of environment protection and water conservation.]
Recipients of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2005
Ms Nafisa Barot
Ms. Nafisa Barot has been championing the efforts of local communities to achieve self-reliance in natural resources in the Bhal region of Gujarat. She is the founder trustee of Utthan, an organization dedicated to the upliftment and empowerment of impoverished local communities, especially women. Nafisaben as she is popularly known, has been involved in a number of water management activities in the region such as drought proofing, rain-water harvesting and desilting. Other activities carried out by Utthan in Gujarat include women's credit groups, community health programs, afforestation and education. Ms. Barot represents Utthan on several national and international committees. She is a strong believer in the empowerment of vulnerable sections of the society through socio-economic and cultural development based on the principles of sustainable resource use and conservation. [Ms. Nafisa Barot continues her work on social and environmental issues. She also continues as Executive Director of Utthan an organisation she co-founded that works in the areas of gender empowerment, integrated natural resource management, and peace and justice through conflict transformation.]
Dr. Anil P. Joshi
Dr. Anil P. Joshi works to promote sustainable livelihoods in the Himalaya. He started his career as a college teacher in Botany and encouraged many of his students to carry out academic research oriented towards solving the basic needs of the hill people. He has been instrumental in developing participatory approaches to natural resource conservation and is credited with developing a variety of ingenious schemes related to water supply, cheap lighting, traditional agriculture, employment generation, earthquake resistant housing and alternative uses of weeds such as lantana. Dr. Joshi and his colleagues formed the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO), which aims to reconcile basic needs of rural communities with the need to conserve natural resources. Dr. Joshi is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of his pioneering contributions towards sustainable living in the Himalayan region. [Dr. Anil P. Joshi continues his work with the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization that he co-founded. He was awarded the 'Padma Shri' in 2006 in recognition of his pioneering contribution towards sustainable living in the Himalayan region.]
Recipient of the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award, 2004
Dr. R. Sukumar
Dr. R Sukumar is a Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He is one of the world leaders in the efforts to conserve the elephants especially the Asian elephant. Since 1997, he has been the Chair of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group of IUCN-The World Conservation Union. He has published three books and over 70 scientific articles. He is the winner of the Presidential Award of the Chicago Zoological Society in 1989 and was honoured with the Order of the Golden Ark, by the Government of Netherlands in 1997 for his outstanding contribution to Elephant conservation. His approach has been in using the elephant as a flagship for conserving landscapes, their biodiversity, and reconciling human interests with conservation. Most recently he was the recipient of the Whitley Gold Award for International Nature Conservation (2003). [Dr. R. Sukumar continues as Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science. At present research in his lab spans the areas of wildlife ecology, tropical forest ecology and climate change. He is a recipient of the International Cosmos Prize in 2006.]
In 2010, ATREE started the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools.The new award called for action on environmental issues, and was announced in Delhi and Bengaluru. The idea was to reward initiative/ action on local environmental issues and so seed environmental consciousness. The award was designed in partnership with The Teacher Foundation, Wipro, IAIM-FRLHT and Pravah, and recognised schools for catalyzing and enabling environmental thought and action among its students.
In 2011, the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools became part of the Wipro earthian awards, and is now called the TN Khoshoo-earthian Trophy. This strategic partnership with Wipro is the result of a shared vision of the role of youth in potentially advancing conservation thought and action in routine decision making. The TN Khoshoo-earthian Trophy recognizes one school and one college from among the short-listed earthian winning submissions, for higher degree of feasibility, practical implement-ability and contextual understanding.
ATREE is also one of Wipro’s knowledge partners in the fields of environment, development and conservation, for the earthian’s Continuous Engagement Programme (CEP). The CEP is the second part of the 'earthian Sustainability Program for Schools and Colleges'. It will be a process of continuously engaging with the winning institutions on multiple fronts to develop capacities for activities around sustainability. The purpose of this investment in developing next generation capabilities by earthian and its partners is to help develop an interdisciplinary view of the problems of environment and development, and encourage rigour and critical thinking for action.
ATREE and the earthian Continuous Engagement Programme
TN Khoshoo Earthian Trophy 2015
The fifth TN Khoshoo earthian trophy was bagged by a school in Sikkim and a college in Bhubaneshwar
The TN Khoshoo Earthian Trophy for schools was distributed to a school and a college at the Wipro Earthian Awards ceremony, held at Wipro's Sarjapur campus in Bangalore on 6th February 2016. The TN Khoshoo Earthian Awards, this year, were bagged by the Government Secondary School, Bongten and Xavier University, Bhubaneswar.
Students of the Government Secondary School, Bongten, West Sikkim, won the award for a project titled 'Environment as a shared space'. The students spent a year surveying 45 flora species, and the various interactions they have with other organisms, in and around their school campus. They also conducted a socio-economic survey recording the community's awareness on ecosystem services. They ended their report with a case study on paddy cultivation - a major source of income for the community, focusing on the different strains of rice, cultivation techniques and fertilizers used by the community. The team's suggestion included a switch to organic farming practices and adopting farming techniques that would boost native rice strains.
Winners in the college category, the Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, developed an analytical report on solid waste management in their city. They identified the main sources of solid waste, e-waste, plastic waste and bio-medical waste and the key challenges associated with them. The team devised a model that would assist the municipal council in segregation, collection and treatment. This report has been presented to the State Municipal Council in an effort to work alongside each other.
In addition to this, the team also audited the University's energy and water consumption and submitted a list of recommendations to students and the governing board - with a special emphasis on behavioral changes as a collective.
The winners were awarded a plaque and ATREE's coffee table books -The Himalayas and Sahyadris at the event.
The TN Khoshoo Earthian Trophy has been a part of the Wipro Earthian Awards since 2011. This partnership with Wipro is the result of a shared vision of the role of youth in potentially advancing conservation thought and action in routine decision making. Each year the TN Khoshoo-earthian Trophy recognizes one school and one college from among the short-listed earthian winning submissions, for higher degree of feasibility, practicality and contextual understanding.
The TN Khoshoo Earthian Trophy also commemorates the legacy of one of India's leading environmental scientists, Dr Triloki Nath Khoshoo (27 April 1927-10 June 2002). Dr Khoshoo was also the founder trustee of ATREE and an able administrator, who started his career as co-founder of the Department of Botany at the Punjab University, Lahore, which moved to Khalsa College, Amritsar, soon after the partition of India. Dr Khoshoo became the first Secretary of the newly created Department of Environment of the Government of India in 1982.
He joined the Tata Energy Research Institute as a Distinguished Fellow In 1985 and contributed to public policy discussions at national as well as international forums. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1992 and the Sasakawa Environment Prize by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1996.
Dr. Khoshoo was a prolific writer. Over the course of five decades, he authored more than 250 research papers on plant genetics and evolution, biomass, energy, forestry, conservation, etc, and wrote wrote seven books and edited eleven more on a wide range of subjects. His book 'Mahatma Gandhi: An Apostle of Applied Human Ecology', published in 1996, was widely applauded for his interpretation of the practical relevance of Gandhian views.
Winners through the years
The project required hands-on skills in educating residents on issues of waste management; persuading and motivating skills to convert them to this practice; partnering capabilities to create a chain of movement of waste from a house to recycled or useful products like compost, and thereon to its buyers.
Why Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai got the TN Khoshoo-earthian award: This project is an example of household level outreach with ripple effects in community and surroundings. It is a good example of local autonomous action and community participation. The college carried out a practical activity to its logical end, with little or no loose ends.
School category winners
This year, two schools share the award:
KK English High School, Bengaluru(also the winner of the first Khoshoo School Award in 2010)
Project: Alternative approach to better waste management practices
Why KK English High School, Bengaluruget the TN Khoshoo-earthian award: The school demonstrated commitment to action that was demonstrated in scale, thoroughness of action and length of project in time. The project included all students and staff, not just students participating in the competition. The project was carried out for the entire year and is evidently part of school practice before this as well.
Sakar English School, Ahmedabad
Project: Solid waste management problems and solutions, a case study of Ahmedabad city
Why Sakar English School, Ahmedabad get the TN Khoshoo-earthian award: For being able to break up the problem of city into workable components, thereby providing a practical handle that could lead to immediately do-able/ practicable measures.
TN Khoshoo-earthian trophy 2011
Winner in the college category: Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
Project: Integrating solid waste management and organic farming, within the theme: cities and communities, agriculture, role of policies, regulations.
The IIM paper addressed the issue of inorganic farming and associated deterioration of soil quality, as well as perceptions that discourage farmers from using organic methods. A parallel investigation into the problems besetting solid waste management in Kerala lead the team to create a Mobius of one issue being part of the solution for the other issue. The IIMK team propose a hub and spoke system of waste collection, its treatment and disposal as organic manure and pesticide.
The IIMK team members wereSivaharsh S, Raj B, Praveen S, Paresh Mali, MonicaPachori.
Read the full project submission.
Winner in the school category: Rishi Valley School, Andhra Pradesh
Project: Water and the Valley
Rishi Valley team:ArjunAshoka, AryamanJal, IshaanAgrawal, SamvitSengupta, Nihal Saldana, KabirSrivastav, DevdarshanBastolaTanmayBedi are the group that made up this team.
TN Khoshoo Ecology & Environment Award for Schools 2010- 2011
First place: Salwan Public School, Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, and K K High School, Varthur, Bengaluru
Second place: Father Agnel School from Gautam Nagar, Delhi, Sri Vani Education Centre (SVEC), Basaveshwarnagar, Bengaluru
2010-2011, the first year of the TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools. The award was launched in Delhi and Bengaluru in early 2010. Coordinating organisations–Pravah, in Delhi, and ATREE, in Bengaluru, started their interactions with schools in July 2010, briefing schools on the long-term objectives of the school awards, and guiding them through the processes for participation.The efforts of the students, schools and the organisers were showcased in interactive Environment Melas in Delhi and Bengaluru on 24th January and 28th February 2011 respectively. The winners of TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Awards for Schools 2011 were announced here.
The criteria for winning were impact, sustainability of the idea, replicability, and creativity.
For more on the first awards.
Dr. Triloki Nath Khoshoo (27 April 1927-10 June 2002), founder trustee of ATREE, was a world-renowned environmental scientist and an able administrator. Dr. Khoshoo started his career as co-founder of the Department of Botany at the Punjab University, Lahore, which moved to Khalsa College, Amritsar, soon after the partition of India. After a brief stint as Chairman of the Botany Department at Jammu and Kashmir University, he joined the National Botanical Gardens, Lucknow, in 1964, as Assistant Director. He soon became the Director, and due to his untiring efforts, the institution rose to the stature of being the National Botanical Research Institute in 1978.
Dr Khoshoo became the first Secretary of the newly created Department of Environment of the Government of India in 1982, with the responsibility of developing an environment policy for the country. In 1985, he joined the Tata Energy Research Institute as a Distinguished Fellow and contributed to public policy discussions at national as well as international forums. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1992 and the Sasakawa Environment Prize by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1996.
Dr. Khoshoo was a prolific writer. Over the course of five decades, he authored more than 250 research papers on plant genetics and evolution, biomass, energy, forestry, conservation and, the utilization and management of natural resources. He has written seven books and edited eleven more on a wide range of subjects. His book 'Mahatma Gandhi: An Apostle of Applied Human Ecology', published in 1996, was widely applauded for his interpretation of the practical relevance of Gandhian views.