The Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation that works on environment and sustainable development related issues, on Monday bagged the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2018.
The award was announced by an international jury headed by former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
As per the announcement, CSE has been awarded for “its pioneering work over almost four decades in environmental education and protection, for its steadfast advocacy of measures to combat environmental deterioration, for its success in influencing public policies and programmes that have benefitted social and economic development in India, and for keeping the issue of environmental sustainability at the forefront of national attention and public policy.”
“As the world and particularly India face growing challenges that threaten the future of the planet, CSE has built up the expertise and credibility to make a difference. Its programmes have achieved important public health outcomes in several areas of vital impact,” says the award announcement.
“We are truly honoured by this recognition and thank the jury for acknowledging CSE’s role in the environmental movement in India. CSE’s selection for this prize also points to the significant imperative of environmental issues in our lives. It is a recognition as well of the imminent threats that the world faces today, of insecurity due to climate change, inequitable development, and rapid and growing environmental degradation,” CSE director general Sunita Narain said responding to the announcement.
Instituted by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, the award carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh and a citation.
CSE was set up by environmentalist Anil Agarwal in 1980 and is being run by Narain after Agarwal's death. The 12-member CSE board is headed by noted agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan.
Past recipients of this award include Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the (then) Soviet Union (1987); Gro Harlem Brundtland, prime minister of Norway (1988); the UNICEF (1989); Vaclav Havel, president of the Czech Republic (1993); Jimmy Carter, former president of the US (1997); UN and its secretary-general Kofi Annan (2003); Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany (2013); and the Indian Space Research Organisation (2014).
The 2017 Prize went to former Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh.