National Commitment Vital for Conservation, Says Environment Minister at Eco Warrior Awards

Protecting natural resources and wildlife is a collective national duty rather than solely a government obligation, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stated in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.

Award Winners and Categories

Speaking at the fourth edition of the Eco Warrior Awards, the minister honoured fifteen forest officers alongside other conservationists across eight categories. Brij Kishore Singh, a retired Indian Forest Service officer from the Karnataka cadre who previously opposed sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. For the first time, two winners were chosen in each individual category after evaluating over eighty entries. Honourees included Dr. Prakash Chand Gogineni and Manish Singh for protected area management, Selvi S. Senbagapriya and Dr. Sanjeev Sharma for wildlife protection, and Dharm Singh Meena and Suman Shivashankar Sivachar W.M. for environment conservation.

Additional Honourees

Further awards went to Dhawan Kumar Rawat and Gurharsh Singh for community connection, N. Jayaraj and Ramsundar M. for technology use, and Savita Dahiya and K. Karthikeyani for special jury recognition. Project Elephant and the Great Indian Bustard conservation initiative received the special projects honour. The event, hosted by Indian Masterminds and the Indian Forest Service Association, also featured panel discussions, a wildlife photography exhibition by civil servants, and the release of an association souvenir.

Context

The Eco Warrior Awards annually recognise frontline forest personnel and officers who handle difficult field conditions such as wildfires and human-wildlife conflicts. Such events highlight the growing integration of technology and local community involvement in modern Indian environmental management.