Whitley Awards

Whitley Awards Latest News

Recently, Indian conservationists Barkha Subba, Parveen Shaikh won Whitley Awards for conservation of Himalayan salamander and endangered Indian skimmer.

About Whitley Awards

• It is often called as the “Green Oscars,”
• It recognises grassroots conservation leaders in the Global South.
• It is given by the UK charity Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).
• It provides winners with £50,000 in project funding over one year to scale up local solutions to biodiversity loss.

Key Facts about Himalayan salamander

• It is a lizard-like amphibian species.
• Although it resembles a lizard, it lacks scales on its body.
• Distribution: It is endemic to India (the Darjeeling region), Nepal and Bhutan,
• It can grow up to 17 cm in length and live for up to 11 years.
• Salamanders return to their natal site to breed and lay eggs—a process known as philopatry, which makes them highly vulnerable to changes in habitat and wetland health.
• Cultural Significance: The wetlands where Himalayan salamanders breed are culturally revered water bodies, associated with local deities and rituals.
• Conservation Status: IUCN: Vulnerable

Key Facts about Indian skimmer

• It is one of the three species that belong to the skimmer genus Rynchops in the family Laridae. 
• It gets its name from the way it feeds, flying low over the water surface and ‘skimming’for fish.
• Habitat: It occurs primarily on larger, sandy, lowland rivers, around lakes and adjacent marshes.
• Distribution: It is mainly found in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, with some populations extending to Nepal and Myanmar.
• In India, one of the key areas for spotting Indian Skimmers is the Chambal River.
• Conservation status: IUCN: Endangered

Source: HT

‹ ›