Wildlife Biologist bags UN honour
Indian wildlife biologist DrPurnima Devi Barman received the United Nations (UN) highest environmental honour – Champions of the Earth in the Entrepreneurial Vision category. DrPurnima leads the ‘Hargila Army’ which is an all-female grassroots conservation movement committed to guarding the Greater Adjutant Stork against extinction. Today, this army consists of over 10000 women who work to protect nesting sites and rehabilitate injured storks. According to UNEP, since Dr Barman started her conservation programme, the number of nests in the villages of Dadara, Pachariya, and Singimari in Kamrup District has risen from 28 to more than 250, making this the largest breeding colony of greater adjutant storks in the world. Impressed by her work, the UN honoured the award to Dr Barman for he