Our Reporter
Dimapur, Dec. 5 (EMN): Two Nagas — Seno Tsuha and Sangti Wanmai Konyak — were among the recipients of 8th Balipara Foundation Awards at Guwahati, Assam on Saturday.
The award recognises ‘extraordinary visionaries of the eastern Himalayas and their indomitable contribution, who continue to live in harmony with nature and adopt sustainable methods for greening the economy’.
Tsuha, who works closely with sustainable livelihoods, community conservation and gender justice, received the NaturenomicsTM award and the Eastern Himalayan Conservation Award was given to Konyak for his works in biodiversity conservation and documentation.
Speaking with Eastern Mirror, Tsuha, who works with the Chizami-based North East Network (NEN), said that she accepts the award with humility and “wishes to share the award with Chizami Weaves Enterprise”.
She thanked the organisers for recognising the contribution of the weavers and said that it is an award that acknowledges the work on sustainable livelihood through textile weaving.
She shared that the weavers are also farmers who have been supporting their own lives, families and community through their work. “And also the weavers themselves become more active and participate in community development works in their own villages and through this work it has ‘visible-lised’ the contribution of women,” she shared.
Tsuha asserted that it is important to support and encourage each other and look for opportunities that are within ‘our own communities and ecosystems’. She also stated that she believes the kind of livelihood the weavers have been pursuing needs the support of different agencies, as this is something that has been sustaining their lives and keeping the communities together.
The recipient of Eastern Himalayan Conservation Award, Konyak, was recognised for safeguarding his community and forests by advocating laws that prohibit animal hunting. He is a social worker, conservationist and a filmmaker who has been ‘on a mission to safeguard his community and the forest around it. His negotiations with the state government were critical in getting a law banning hunting between April and September passed in the surrounding areas as well’.
The other recipients include Tin Tin Saw from Myanmar who started community forestry in her village to stop illegal logging and mining for construction. With her tireless efforts, a total of 61 community forestry members are involved in environmental conservation activities at her village Pin He in Kachin state of Myanmar.
The National Lifetime Service Award was given to Dr. Parimal Chandra Bhattarcharjee, who pioneered many wetland studies, primatology and biodiversity studies across Northeast India, becoming a mentor to many leading figures in conservation in Northeast India today. The year’s annual Balipara Foundation award jointly went to Trinity Saioo and Association for Environmental Preservation, Mizoram for work in organic farming and conservation action for wildlife respectively.
Jorjo Tana Tara of Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh was also awarded the NaturenomicsTM award, for tirelessly defending the forests of Arunachal Pradesh. The Green Guru Award was received by Nosang Limboo from Sikkim, who champions the cause of butterflies through his photography and writing, and the Akshar Foundation whose model of meta-teaching has been recognised by the UN.
The food for the Future Award was given out to Parimal Das of Tripura for organic dragon fruit plantation, whose fascination with the fruit pushed him to try and grow them, with amazing results. This year’s Nature Conservancy Award went out to Arannayk Foundation, Bangladesh: Habitat Restoration, Climate Mitigation & Natural Resource Management.
A press release from the organisers also stated that the Balipara Foundation launched two lifetime service awards this year, celebrating national and international achievements.
