In a recently approved decision, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust has decided to present the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 to renowned natural historian and broadcaster, David Attenborough.
The citation said that the award was given for "revealing the wonders of the natural world, educating and entertaining generations of people through his films and books for tirelessly working to awaken humankind to the need to preserve and protect the biodiversity on our planet, and advocating the necessity to live a sustainable and harmonious way of life, working with rather than against nature."
Talking about the same, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "It doesn't need an epidemic to tell us that we are not in good shape. Climate change, the assault on the oceans, the pollution of the atmosphere, the junk floating about in space, the reduction of forest cover, the extinction of life in rivers, the reduction of natural habitat for any life other than humans - all this is evident to anyone,"
He also underlined the importance of climate and environment in the backdrop of the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Referring to the late Indira Gandhi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, added, "India needed to accelerate the pace of investment and expand its economic infrastructure. But at the same time, she (Indira Gandhi) was very sensitive to the imperative of maintaining what she would often call ecological balance. Sir David through his prodigious creativity in educating humankind with brilliant films and books about the natural world. And he has, of late, been the most sensible voice warning us that we, more than anything else, are responsible for the accelerating threat to the environment on our planet."
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