Guwahati, May 17: Purnima Barman, the force behind the Hargila Army in Assam, has won the Whitley Award, a prestigious international nature conservation prize, in honour of her work to protect the greater adjutant stork and its wetland habitat.

Whitley Award is also known as Green Oscar. The announcement was made by Whitley Fund for Nature today in London.

Princess Anne will tomorrow present the award, worth £35,000 in project funding, to Purnima during a ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society, London.

A statement issued by Whitley Fund for Nature today says: "Purnima has mobilised followers into the 'Hargila Army', an all-female team of conservationists dedicated to protecting the greater adjutant stork which, through this programme, are offered sustainable livelihood, training and education opportunities. The project is giving marginalised women a voice. Together they are changing local perceptions and numbers of stork nests have risen from 30 seven years ago to over 150 today."

It further says: "With her Whitley Award, Purnima, 37, will scale up this work, encouraging householders to take pride in the species and protect the birds and their nesting trees. She will conduct research on the impact of pollution and garbage consumption on the stork's reproduction and undertake work to secure legal protection of wetland habitat, home to the largest nesting colony of greater adjutants."

The stork species is called hargila in Assamese. The Whitley Fund for Nature is a UK-registered charity that champions outstanding grassroots leaders in nature conservation across the developing world.

Purnima has been working with Dadara, Pachariya and Hingimari villages of Kamrup district to save greater adjutant stork.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), their total population is estimated to be between 1,200 and 1,800 and around 800 birds are found in Assam and at least 156 birds in Bihar.

The conservation organisation further said the greater adjutant stork needs help to prevent felling of nesting trees by landowners wishing to rid themselves of the storks and the threat of wetland destruction. To tackle this issue, Purnima, who works with Aaranyak, an Assam-based NGO, has developed alternative livelihoods for villagers, engaging them with the project and turning bird-haters into bird-lovers.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Purnima said: "Getting the Whitley Award is the dream of every conservationist. I am honoured and humbled to be recognised in this way. Working with people is not always easy, but it's rewarding to see the impact we can make when we all work collaboratively to protect the fantastic species that the greater adjutant stork is. I want to dedicate this award to the communities of Kamrup district in Assam who are working with me to make a difference."

She was selected from among 166 researchers in 66 countries for this prestigious award.

Whitley Awards are given annually by the Whitley Fund for Nature to recognise and celebrate effective national and regional conservation leaders across the globe. Purnima is one of the six persons to have been awarded this prize. Another Indian, Sanjay Gubbi, has got the award for his work in reducing deforestation in tiger corridors of Karnataka.