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Assam wildlife NGO honored with Mark Shand Award by Queen Camilla
The award recognizes Aaranyak’s work in protecting Asian elephants in Northeast India.
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Staff Reporter
- Thu, 15, May 2025
- 21:19 EDT
- 170
Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar receiving the award from Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla. / Facebook/Aaranyak
Aaranyak, one of India’s leading biodiversity conservation organizations, has received the prestigious Mark Shand Award from the UK-based conservation charity Elephant Family. The honour was conferred during the charity’s annual gala, Wonders of the Wild, held on May 13 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London.
The award recognizes Aaranyak’s work in protecting Asian elephants in Northeast India. Through a combination of research, community engagement, habitat restoration, and conflict mitigation, the organization has made significant strides in promoting peaceful coexistence between wild elephants and local communities.
Receiving the award on behalf of Aaranyak was Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, senior scientist and head of the organization’s Elephant Research and Conservation Division. The award was presented by Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla, who serve as Joint Presidents of Elephant Family.
Also read: Tadoba: An unforgettable journey into the heart of India’s wilderness
The Wonders of the Wild event welcomed around 250 distinguished guests, including HRH Princess Beatrice, Lady Marina Windsor, Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Nazario, actors Ed Westwick and Amy Jackson, and singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Elephant Family was established by Queen Camilla’s late brother, Mark Shand — an English travel writer and conservationist known for his passionate advocacy for elephants. Shand, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 62, authored four travel books and was featured in several BBC documentaries. His bestselling book Travels on My Elephant won the Travel Writer of the Year Award at the British Book Awards in 1992.
In his address to the attendees, King Charles said: “This evening is an opportunity as well to pay a special tribute I think to all the wonderful people who do all the work on the ground to rescue not only just elephants, but even more species.”
He continued: “As the Trust and Elephant Family develop an even greater ability to manage the human and animal conflict, it just seems to be the greatest example why collaboration is far better than conflict, and also why if we are to rescue this poor planet from continuing degradation and restore some degree of harmony, we must also understand that whatever we take and exploit from nature, we need to give something back to it to enable nature to sustain us.”
Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar expressed gratitude on behalf of Aaranyak, stating: “Thanks to all the people who are working with us to save one of the last remaining populations of Asian elephants in the Northeastern part of India. As a collective, we at Aaranyak vow to continue to work tirelessly, through multiple avenues, in order to mitigate human-elephant conflict in an effort to facilitate coexistence between wild elephants and communities, so that there is a better future for everyone.”
Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Secretary General of Aaranyak, further added: “Aaranyak’s Elephant Research and Conservation Division is one of the key divisions which deals with the conservation of Asian elephants in Northeast India. The division outlined a 20-year-long elephant conservation plan. As per the plan, its focus is on facilitating human-elephant coexistence, conducting ecological studies, habitat restoration, conservation education, and supplementing the livelihood of people affected by human-elephant conflict among others to aid in the long-term conservation of elephants and its habitat.”
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