MUMBAI: The curator of BNHS’ natural history collection, Varad Giri, received the State-level Nisarga Mitra Award for 2010-2011. The award recognises Giri’s efforts towards documentation of the diversity of amphibians and reptiles of the north western ghats (Sahyadri). This is the 5th year of the award.
Vasundhara, a local NGO from Warananagar in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra that gives away this award every year has been active in the field of nature conservation. The award is given as a token of appreciation to the researchers who are engaged in the documentation and conservation of biodiversity in the western ghats of Maharashtra.
BNHS natural history collection is a unique national heritage with over 1,20,000 preserved specimens of mammal skins, reptiles, birds, amphibians and insects. These were collected over the decades since the formation of BNHS in 1883 from various parts of Indian sub-continent and even beyond from countries such as Afghanistan and Myanmar. Today they serve as a very valuable tool for students and researchers of zoology, ecology and environmental studies in general. They also play a key role in educating the lay people who visit the collection about India’s biological diversity.
Last year Giri and his team had discovered a new species of lizard in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra that was named as Cnemaspis kolhapurensis. Giri had also received the Sarpa Mitra Award last year from Pune-based Bhartiya Sarpa Vidnyan Sanstha (BSVS) for his work in reptile conservation and study.
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