Meet Parveen Shaikh and Barkha Subba: The Indian conservationists who won the ‘Green Oscars’ for saving endangered species
Indian conservationists Parveen Shaikh and Barkha Subba have won the prestigious Whitley Awards 2026, widely known as the ‘Green Oscars’, for their efforts to protect endangered species and fragile ecosystems in India. The award, presented by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature, honours grassroots conservation leaders from the Global South. Shaikh was recognised for saving the endangered Indian skimmer along the Chambal and Ganga river systems. At the same time, Subba earned praise for protecting the rare Himalayan salamander and wetland habitats in Darjeeling. Their community-led conservation projects, wildlife protection efforts, and biodiversity restoration work are now drawing global attention to India’s growing role in environmental conservation and endangered species protection.
Parveen Shaikh’s mission to save the endangered Indian Skimmer
Over the years, Parveen Shaikh has been silently working by the rivers of India in order to conserve a very rare species of bird found there, namely the Indian skimmer. Characterised by its distinctive orange bill, this river bird relies on a peculiar fishing method. However, its numbers have sharply declined because of habitat destruction, pollution, sand mining, and changes in water flow.
Image(s): WFN
As noted by the Whitley Fund for Nature, today’s population of the Indian skimmer comprises no less than 90 per cent of its total population across the globe. As far as Shaikh’s conservation efforts go, most of them centred around the Chambal river systems, where the woman launched the “Guardians of the Skimmer” community-based project based on nest guardians.The positive results of Shaikh’s work have not been overlooked either. Namely, nest survival rates grew from 14 per cent to 27 per cent, and the number of local birds has doubled, going up from about 400 in 2017 to nearly 1,000 last year.In her comments regarding the conservation of the Indian skimmer, Shaikh stated the following:“It is small successes, like protecting a single nest, or a chick taking its first flight, which remind us that hard work pays off.”The Whitley Award funding will now help expand her conservation model to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, where the Ganga and Yamuna rivers meet.
Barkha Subba’s fight to protect the Himalayan Salamander
In the wetlands of Darjeeling, Dr Barkha Subba is fighting yet another important battle, this time for the preservation of the rare amphibian known as the Himalayan salamander, which is referred to as “living fossil”.
Image(s): WFN
As per the press release by the Whitley Fund for Nature, threats to this particular species, which exists only in certain areas of India, Nepal, and Bhutan, include habitat destruction due to urbanisation, tourism, pollution, invasive alien species, and climate change. As the scientific adviser at Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection (FOSEP), Dr Subba dedicated herself to the study of this species and the restoration of its breeding sites over several years, including wetland management, disease monitoring, control of invasive alien species and conducting awareness programmes amongst tea garden labourers, local communities, students and the general public.Dr Subba gave the following descriptions about the animal and the communities:“Meeting a salamander is like meeting an emissary from ancient evolution; a reminder of how long nature has existed and how fast we can destroy it.”“I see communities fighting for what they hold dear. I see young people making choices to conserve, not to exploit.”Through the Whitley award, conservation efforts will be carried out in seven key breeding sites in the Darjeeling Himalayas.
What are the Whitley Awards and why are they known as ‘Green Oscars’
The Whitley Awards rank among the most prestigious prizes awarded to conservationists in the world. They have been annually awarded by the Whitley Fund for Nature at the Royal Geographical Society in London to conservationists using science and collaboration to conserve biodiversity.The ceremony this year was graced by Princess Anne, who is the patron of the charity. Sir David Attenborough, the broadcaster and an environmentalist in his own right, also complimented the works of the award winners.According to Attenborough, “From mountain ranges to caves, an extraordinarily diverse range of habitats. From rainforests to deserts, from mountain ranges to caves and from coral reefs to open oceans, we have to work now; the world won’t wait.” He went ahead and said, “We need the work of Whitley Award winners to succeed and to help them to whatever extent possible.”Whitley Fund for Nature is dedicated to accelerating the efforts of grassroots conservationists and has provided financial aid to over conservationists in the world since its inception by Edward Whitley. Through including local communities as stakeholders in the conservation of natural environments, today’s conservationists are fighting biodiversity loss, climate change, land grabs, food insecurity, and water scarcity.For Parveen Shaikh and Barkha Subba, the honour is more than just a trophy. It is proof that grassroots conservation, local communities, and scientific commitment can still make a real difference at a time when biodiversity loss and climate pressures are accelerating worldwide.
