The San Fransisco-based Globee Awards recognise excellence under 11 different categories. Judges from around the world representing a wide spectrum of industry experts participated in the judging process.
NAVI MUMBAI: Environment focused start-up NGO NatConnect Foundation has won a second silver at the US-based Globee awards series under 11th annual Communication Excellence category for its campaign raising concerns over the global businesses destroying the local environment such as wetlands and mangroves in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
NatConnect director B N Kumar has also been awarded a bronze under the Chief Communication Officer category for the campaign.
NatConnect has earlier won a silver under the 13th Annual Golden Bridge Business and Innovation Awards for its focused campaign to preserve MMR’s biodiversity.
In a fourth Globee award, NatConnect won a bronze under the International Best In Business category for its relentless efforts to keep alerting the government machinery and galvanising the officials into action.
The San Fransisco-based Globee Awards recognise excellence under 11 different categories. Judges from around the world representing a wide spectrum of industry experts participated in the judging process.
During the lockdown, NatConnect has launched a unique ‘digital agitation’ with a #wakeupforwetlands call has drawn global attention and been reported by the Ramsar Convention web site.
“The awards are testimony to the team efforts by NatConnect and its associates in raising concerns over destruction of the environment and focusing on increasing public awareness to conserve nature in the interest of the City and the country,” said NGO’s director B N Kumar.
“These surely encourage us to continue our selfless efforts with the involvement of fellow NGOs and the people at large,” he said and pointed out that the green warriors are not opposed to infrastructure projects for socio-economic development, but they must not come at the cost of the environment, lives and livelihoods.
On NatConnect’s complaint about the destruction of Uran wetlands, the destination of thousands of migratory birds, the Inspector General of Wetlands has launched a probe. The Prime Minister’s office has asked the civil aviation department to look into the concerns of bird-hit threats to flights at the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) due to the disturbance to the avian species’ landing places – the wetlands.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked the Forest and Urban Development departments to examine the NGO’s suggestion to conserve Panje wetland as an MMR Biodiversity Park. The 183-year-old BNHS has already backed the idea.
Under the stewardship of BNHS and the NatConnect is coordinating the combined efforts along with several platforms such as Save Navi Mumbai Environment, Kharghar Wetlands and Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan, for the first ever MMR Biodiversity Plan. “We have drawn up a list of over 20 properties and a host of species of birds to be protected and conserved and the BNHS will make a final blueprint for the government’s consideration,” Kumar said.
