Seventh Edition of RBS Earth Heroes Awards Confers Heroes of Environment and Wildlife Conservation for 2017

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a subsidiary of the RBS Group, today announced the winners of the RBS ‘Earth Heroes’ Awards for 2017. Eight individuals/institutions from the field of wildlife and conservation, who have demonstrated exemplary work on the ground, were chosen by an independent jury, for the RBS Earth Heroes Award. The jury panel, comprising of active wildlife enthusiasts, environmentalists and conservationists, reviewed nominations received from across the country.

Pankaj Phatarphod, Managing Director Country Head of Services; India Chairperson – RBS Foundation India, said, “Earth Heroes Awards’ journey has truly been enriching for us at RBS, by giving us an opportunity to honour and encourage individuals and organizations who work towards environmental sustainability. This year as well, we have been fortunate enough to receive numerous nominations of such high calibre and have the privilege to celebrate and honour the best in the field for their respective efforts. This year’s awardees’ demonstrate how sheer dedication for their respective field can help make a positive change to the environment. We hope to serve as a source of inspiration for the youth of India, by encouraging the exemplary work done by the Earth Heroes”

N Sunil Kumar, Head of Sustainability, India, Royal Bank of Scotland and Director, RBS Foundation India, said, "The unsung  heroes of the country who dedicate their lives, go beyond the call of duty to conserve our wild habitats  deserve to  be celebrated.  Forest carbon sink and biodiversity is an important Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) committed by India at the UN Climate platform (COP 21 of UNFCCC). The Earth Heroes work is a direct contribution to this NDC.  I am honoured to acknowledge their efforts towards conservation of our wildlife and habitats.  It is indeed a privilege for us to be hosting these awards each year.”

The seventh edition of RBS Earth Heroes Awards saw Sumitra Mahajan, hand over award citations and cash prizes to the winners, at the awards ceremony in New Delhi.

The winners of the 2017 RBS ‘Earth Heroes’ Awards are:

No.	Winner	Award category
1	Jadav Payeng	RBS Earth Hero’ Award
2	Valmiki Tiger Reserve	RBS Earth Guardian’ Award
3	Mr. Khenrab Phuntsog and Mr. Smanla Tsering	RBS ‘Save The Species’ Award
4	Mr. Atul Deokar	RBS ‘Save The Species’ Award
5	Mr. Rohan Chakravarty	RBS Inspire’ Award
6	Dr. Shekhar Niraj	RBS Green Warrior’ Award
7	Mr. Ipra Mekola	RBS Green Warrior’ Award
8	Mr. Chandrakant Naik	RBS Green Warrior’ Award

RBS ‘Earth Hero’ Award (Felicitation)

This award recognizes extraordinary achievements of an individual who has worked a life time in conservation of wildlife, natural resource management, and environment and has influenced policy.

The RBS ‘Earth Hero’ Award was conferred upon Jadav Payeng for his outstanding achievements and his passionate engagement in environment and wildlife conservation.

Jadav Payeng, popularly known as the ‘Forest Man of India’ is one of the most inspiring stories of our time. 31 years ago, the Assam Forest Department started out a project to plant life on the tough terrain of the eroded island covered with sand and silt. Jadav Payeng was a part of the project and continued even after the project ended. Shri Payeng, through his continuous effort over decades, succeeded in turning a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra into a forest reserve by planting trees. The forest, called the ‘Molai’ forest after him is located near Kokilamukh of Jorhat, Assam, India, and encompasses an area of about 1,360 hectares.

Amongst several other esteemed recognitions and awards, ‘The Forest Man of India’ was also a recipient of RBS ‘Green Warrior’ Award in 2013. Shri Payeng was honoured with the fourth highest civilian award in India, the ‘Padma Shri’, in 2015.