Meet the Two Indian Women Who Just Won the 'Green Oscars' in 2026 Globally

The prestigious ‘Green Oscars’ have just put two Indian women in their award-winning list to honor their contribution to environmental conservation. The two extraordinary Indian women are none other than Parveen Shaikh and Dr. Barkha Subba, who won the 2026 Whitley Awards (also known as Green Oscars) held at the Royal Geographical Society in London. 

This year, the Green Oscar awards were presented by the British Princess Anne on behalf of the Whitley Fund for Nature. The fund further awarded £50,000 to the winner in an attempt to recognise their efforts and as a fund for their grassroots projects and activism. 

Let’s read more about the award and who these two incredible Indian women are as activists, apart from being the Green Oscars 2026 award winners hereonwards. 

What are the Green Oscars Awards? 

The infamous ‘Green Oscars’ is the popular name of the prestigious Whitley Awards administered and funded by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN). It came into existence with an aim to champion grassroots conservation leaders across the southern part of the world. 

In other words, the Green Oscars celebrate individuals who have combined their scientific knowledge with community engagement on the local level to bring change on the grassroots level. 

WFN supports this activism by giving them international visibility and invaluable global networking, and most importantly, a crucial grant of £50,000 to fund their field operations. 

The Two Indian Women Who Won the Green Oscars 2026

Here are the two outstanding Indian women who made every Indian proud this year through their work on localised conservation projects that will safeguard our incredibly fragile ecosystem. 

Parveen Shaikh

Parveen Shaikh is a scientist with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). She found a way to save the Indian skimmer birds along the Chambal River. As India currently holds 90% of the global breeding population, Parveen’s ‘Guardians of the Skimmer’ initiative has helped in training over 30 local villagers to protect vulnerable nesting colonies on the river coast. It now helps the locals in protecting the bird from stray predators. 

Dr. Barkha Subha

Another Indian to win the Green Oscars in 2026, Dr. Barkha Subha, works in Darjeeling with the Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection (FOSEP). Barkha is mainly focusing on protecting the ancient Himalayan Salamander. Her scientific research is helping the local tea estate workers to restore the drying wetlands and deal with deadly amphibian fungal diseases. 

List of other winners of the Whitley Awards 2026

Alongside the two brilliant Indian winners, four other conservationists from the Global South were celebrated for their ecological impact this year:

All the Whitley Awards 2026 winners. Photo Credit: Whitley Awards

Source: Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) Official 2026 Winner Profiles

The achievements of these women environmentalists prove that real ecological healing starts from the ground level. Their well-deserved Green Oscars awards in a way, are a hopeful light on India's irreplaceable role in protecting the future ecosystem and environment of our planet Earth.