Assam conservationist gets IUCN’s ‘Heritage Hero’ honor.
Famous conservationist and ecologist Bibhuti Lahkar of Assam has been awarded the prestigious “Heritage Hero 2016” award by the IUCN. The honor was conferred on him in Hawaii on Sunday morning, according to IST. The selection of Lahkar, who is the first Asian to get the honor, was based on the votes cast on IUCN’s website.
For the past 17 years, he has been working relentlessly in the Manas National Park falling under Bodoland protective Areas District. The park’s demolition by humans and also by militants, who had made it their haven, once made the UNESCO to downgrade it to a World Heritage place in Danger until removing it in 2011. Lahkar is mainly credited with changing the park’s fortunes.
Bibhuti held dozens of public meetings in which locals were made aware about the value of Manas as a natural World Heritage spot and as an ecotourism destination.
