Environmental Awards of India and the World: Tyler, Goldman, Whitley and the Indian Honours

Environmental Awards of India and the World: Tyler, Goldman, Whitley and the Indian Honours

Environmental awards appear in prelims as match-the-pair and statement questions: the award, the body that gives it, the year it started and the field it honours. This guide covers the eight awards that were missing from the site, four from the world and four from India.

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement

The Tyler Prize is one of the oldest international environmental awards, and it is often called the Nobel Prize for the environment. It was founded in 1973 by John and Alice Tyler and is administered by the University of Southern California.

• Given for: outstanding contributions to environmental science, environmental health and energy.
• Prize: US $250,000 and a medallion.
• Remember: 1973, Tyler, University of Southern California.

Goldman Environmental Prize

The Goldman Environmental Prize is awarded every year to grassroots environmental activists, and it is often called the Green Nobel. It was founded in 1989 by Richard and Rhoda Goldman and is given by the Goldman Environmental Foundation of San Francisco.

• Given for: grassroots environmental activism, six winners a year, one from each of six regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America.
• Prize: US $200,000.
• Remember: 1989, Goldman, six regions, grassroots activists.

Global 500 Roll of Honour

The Global 500 Roll of Honour was the United Nations Environment Programme award for environmental achievement, given from 1987 to 2003.

• Given by: the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• Given for: environmental achievements of individuals and organisations.
• Scale: more than 719 people and organisations were honoured over its life.
• Successor: the UNEP award Champions of the Earth, started in 2005.
• Remember: UNEP, 1987 to 2003, Global 500.

Sasakawa Award

The United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction is the global award for work that reduces the risk of disasters. It was established in 1986 by Ryoichi Sasakawa, the founding chairman of the Nippon Foundation.

• Given by: the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), together with the Nippon Foundation.
• Given for: outstanding contribution to disaster risk reduction.
• How often: every two years, presented at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.
• Indian link: Dr P. K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, received the award in 2019.
• Remember: 1986, Sasakawa, disaster risk reduction, UNDRR.

Whitley Awards

The Whitley Awards honour grassroots nature conservation leaders in the developing world, and they are often called the Green Oscars. They are given by the Whitley Fund for Nature, a United Kingdom charity, and the first awards were made in 1994.

• Founded by: Edward Whitley; the first award in 1994 carried a prize of 15,000 pounds.
• Given for: grassroots conservation leadership in the developing world.
• Prize today: project funding of about 40,000 pounds over one year.
• Remember: 1994, Whitley Fund for Nature, Green Oscars.

Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar

The Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar is the Government of India award for environmental protection, instituted in 1987 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, now the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in memory of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

• Given for: measurable and major impact on the protection of the environment.
• Given to: individuals and organisations.
• Selection: the selection committee is headed by the Vice President of India.
• First recipient: the Bombay Natural History Society, in 1987.
• Remember: 1987, MoEFCC, in memory of Indira Gandhi.

Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Puraskar

The Vrikshamitra Award, formally the Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Puraskar, was instituted in 1986 and is given by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

• Given for: pioneering and exemplary work in afforestation and wasteland development.
• Given to: individuals and institutions.
• Remember: 1986, Vrikshamitra, afforestation and wasteland development. Do not confuse it with the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar of 1987.

Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Conservation Award

The Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Conservation Award is given by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for outstanding contribution to wildlife conservation.

• Given to: officers, field workers and institutions working in wildlife conservation and research.
• First given: in 2000, to WWF-India.
• Prize: Rs 1,00,000, a medallion and a citation.
• Remember: MoEFCC, wildlife conservation, first awarded in 2000.

How to remember them

• World awards: Tyler (1973), Goldman (1989), Global 500 (1987 to 2003), Sasakawa (1986), Whitley (1994).
• Indian awards: Vrikshamitra (1986), Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (1987), Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Conservation Award (first given 2000).
• The two nicknames: Tyler Prize is the Nobel for the environment; Goldman Prize is the Green Nobel; Whitley Awards are the Green Oscars.
• The two 1986 awards: Sasakawa is for disaster risk reduction; Vrikshamitra is for afforestation and wasteland development.