‘Latifur Rahman Naturenomics Award’ launched

The Balipara Foundation has recently introduced "Latifur Rahman Naturenomics Award" -- a special award to memorialise the late founder chairman of Transcom Group, one of the leading figureheads behind ethical business in Bangladesh.

This award will focus on Sylhet, CHT and the Sundarbans-Khulna on creating a thriving ecosystem and livelihoods and will be instituted from 2021 in Bangladesh, said a press release.

The award was launched by Victor Banerjee, who delivered a touching memorial on Latifur Rahman, who worked tirelessly for creating social sustainability while maintaining the highest ethical and moral standards in the Eastern Himalayas.

The award was introduced at the eighth edition of the Balipara Foundation Awards, following a four-day virtual edition of the eighth Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics Forum 2020 on December 1-5.

The forum brought together global leaders and experts to discuss the theme of "Ecology is Economy".

The awards recognised the 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, added the press release.

Bringing together the award winners in a virtual avatar, the event began with words of encouragement from Indian actor Adil Hussain. 

This year's national "Lifetime Service Award" went to Dr Parimal Chandra Bhattacharjee, an academic and a retired professor of Gauhati University, Assam while "Nature Conservancy Award" to Arannayk Foundation, Bangladesh: Habitat Restoration, Climate Mitigation & Natural Resource Management.

Closing the evening, Balipara Foundation founder, Ranjit Barthakur, highlighted the need for more changemakers to be inspired across the region and the urgent need for collaboration across borders.

Introduced by the Balipara Foundation in 2013, the awards stand as a platform to reward and encourage the efforts of grassroots changemakers and leaders working tirelessly to protect and enhance the rich biodiversity and natural capital of the Eastern Himalayas.

Over the past eight years, the  Balipara Foundation has highlighted and invested in the efforts of 103 such leaders from the North East states and the neighbouring Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.