changeadminDr Sonali Ghosh, Field Director at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, becomes the first Indian to win the prestigious WCPA-Kenton Miller Award for innovation in National Parks and Protected Area Sustainability at the IUCN World Conservation Congress held at Abu Dhabi.
Dr Ghosh has pioneered sustainable park management, eco-tourism, and community-led conservation in Assam’s protected areas. In 2024, when floods lashed parts of Kaziranga National Park, she transformed anti-poaching camps into emergency shelters and created temporary wildlife corridors for animals.
Kaziranga National Park, located in Assam, India, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its incredible biodiversity and conservation success. The forest hosts over two-thirds of the world’s population of endangered Indian one-horned rhinoceros, the park’s iconic species.
However, when Kaziranga National Park is flooded, typically during the monsoon season, the effects are both ecologically dynamic and highly challenging for wildlife, park managers, and nearby communities.
In the floods in 2017, 85% of the park was submerged, and more than 350 wild animals, including 30 endangered rhinos, nine elephants, drowned or died due to exhaustion or vehicle accidents while escaping floodwaters.
In 2024, another devastating flood struck Assam, and more than 130 wild animals, including rhinos, deer, elephants, and otters, were killed. Here is a video where Dr Sonali Ghosh is giving an update to the media during the floods that affected Kaziranga National Park in 2024.
The WCPA-Kenton Miller Award is a prestigious international honour given by the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) to individuals who have demonstrated significant innovation and excellence in the management and sustainability of national parks and protected areas around the world.
Named after Dr Kenton R. Miller, a pioneering conservationist and former IUCN Director General, the biennial award recognises visionary leadership, innovative policies, scientific approaches, field practices, or governance models with proven local, national, or global impact.
Dr Sonali Ghosh became the first Indian recipient of the Kenton Miller Award, recognised for scientific habitat management, community-driven conservation, and innovative park leadership.
Convened once every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress is the world’s largest and most influential gathering dedicated to nature conservation and sustainable development. This year’s event is in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from October 9–15, 2025, with climate, biodiversity, pollution, and inclusive governance as its core themes.
You might like to read.
At the IUCN World Conservation Congress, India has launched the National Red List Assessment initiative to assess and monitor the conservation status of species in the country. Read here
Add comment