Overview
- Barkha Subba and Parveen Shaikh received Whitley Awards for projects safeguarding the Himalayan salamander in Darjeeling and the Indian skimmer on the Chambal, with one-year grants of £50,000 each.
- Shaikh’s community-led ‘Guardians of the Skimmer’ lifted nest survival to 27% from 14% and increased the local skimmer count to about 1,000 birds from 400 in 2017 through nest guardians and steady monitoring.
- She plans to consolidate work on the Chambal and extend protection to sites near Prayagraj, with similar efforts proposed for the Yamuna and Ganga and a push to keep minimum river flow during peak nesting season.
- Subba will launch the first coordinated grassroots plan for the Himalayan salamander in Darjeeling by restoring habitat, removing invasive species, screening for chytrid fungus, and focusing on seven of roughly 30 known breeding sites.
- India holds more than 90% of the global Indian skimmer population, and both projects target pressures that erase habitat and disrupt river flows, which can collapse sandbar nesting and wipe out local breeding in a single season.