Award winning Indian teen environmentalist Kehkashan Basu has held that ecologists should not lose hope, despite the scepticism of leaders such as Donald Trump regarding climate change.
Ms. Basu born to Indian parents living in Dubai also shared optimism for environmental activism at the Hague where she was awarded the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize.
She was honoured for her child-run organisation
Green Hope based in the UAE which now has more than thousand volunteers in 10 nations across the globe.
The teen founded Green Hope at the age of 12 and within 4 years, she managed to execute several successful environmental projects.
This includes planting 5,000 trees in Colombia, France, Mexico, Nepal, Oman and the US. Aside from planting trees, Green Hope also cleans up mangrove swamps around the UAE.
Ms Basu’s work drew attention to the threats facing fragile coastal forests.
Mangroves are considered vital to coral reefs and fisheries and serve as an important buffer for coastal cities against rising sea levels and storm surges.
These species are facing deforestation rates 3-5 times higher than the average global forest loss.
Ms. Basu was inspired by her grandmother’s rooftop garden in Kolkata.
She received the prize from 2006 Nobel Peace laureate and anti poverty campaigner and founder of Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus.
About the International Children’s Peace Prize- The prize is annually awarded to a child who fights courageously for children’s rights.
- Organising authority: KidsRights
- Prize award: 100000 euro or USD 106,000 investment for projects in winner’s home country.
Past winners:
- Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai (also the prize’s first recipient)
- Nkosi Johnson, South African campaigner who worked for children suffering from HIV-AIDS
