T N Khoshoo Memorial Award and Lecture

The T N Khoshoo Memorial Award and Lecture was instituted in 2004 to honour the legacy of the world-renowned environmental scientist, Dr Triloki Nath Khoshoo. Dr Khoshoo was first Secretary of the Indian Government’s newly created Department of Environment, in 1982. He played a significant role in the development of India's environmental policy. Dr Khoshoo was one of the original trustees of ATREE.

The annual T N Khoshoo Memorial Award is given to an academician or a practitioner whose work has had an impact in the fields of environment, conservation, or development. The T N Khoshoo Memorial Award was started by the Khoshoo family and ATREE to honour Dr Khoshoo’s legacy. Through the T N Khoshoo Endowment Fund, the award, each year, encourages and promotes individuals for outstanding achievements in the field of conservation and sustainable development. The fund is sponsored by Dr Khoshoo’s family, ATREE, the Institute of Rural Research and Development (an initiative of the SM Sehgal Foundation), and other philanthropists. The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 100,000.



Khoshoo Endowment Committee

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Raj Khoshoo (Chair)

Venture Partner, SUM Ventures
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Kamal Bawa

President Emeritus, ATREE & Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston
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Anita Arjundas

Executive Director, ATREE


T N Khoshoo Awardees

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2023

Deepak Malghan

Associate Professor, IIM Bangalore
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2022

Karthick Balasubramanian

Scientist, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune
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2021

Tanya Seshadri

Director, Tribal Health Resource Centre, Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK)
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2021

N. S. Prashanth

Assistant Director (Research), Institute of Public Health
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2019

Meena Subramanium

Artist and Conservationist
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2018

Rajeswari S. Raina

Professor, Shiv Nadar University
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2017

Sonam Wangchuk

Founder, Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL)
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2016

K. J. Joy

Founding Member, Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM)
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2015

Navroz Dubash

Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research
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2014

Mahesh Rangarajan

Head of the Department of Environmental Studies, Ashoka University
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2013

Avani Kumaon (NGO)

Creating Sustainable Livelihoods and Disseminating Appropriate Technology in the Himalayas
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2012

Vidya Athreya

Director, Wildlife Conservation Society, India
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2011

Hemlata Pradhan

Botanical Artist
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2011

Sandeep Tambe

Special Secretary, Department of Rural Management and Development, Sikkim
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2010

Girish Sant

Founder and Coordinator, PRAYAS
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2010

Joss Brooks

Founder Steward, Pitchandikulam Forest in Auroville
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2009

Charudutt Mishra

Founder Trustee, Nature Conservation Foundation
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2009

Ashish Kothari

Founder, Kalpavriksh
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2008

Rebecca Pradhan

Senior Ecologist, Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN)
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2007

B. R. Ramesh

Director of Research, Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry
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2006

Anupam Mishra

Author, Journalist and Water Conservationist
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2005

Anil P. Joshi

Founder, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation
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2005

Nafisa Barot

Founder & Former Executive Director, Utthan
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2004

R. Sukumar

Professor, Indian Institute of Science


Memorial Lectures by

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2023

Partha Dasgupta

Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge
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2021

Jonathan Epstein

Vice President, Science and Outreach, EcoHealth
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2020

Ricky Kej

Multi-Grammy Award-winning Indian music composer and environmentalist
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2019

Jonathan Baillie

Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist, National Geographic
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2017

Anshu Gupta

Founder, Goonj
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2013

Dalai Lama

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
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2012

Madhav Gadgil

Professor, Indian Institute of Science; Chairman, Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel
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2011

Elinor Ostrom

Distinguished Professor, Indiana University; Founding Director, Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity, Arizona State University
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2010

R K Pachauri

Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute; Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute
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2009

Charles Perrings

Professor, Environmental Economics, Arizona State University
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2008

Ramachandra Guha

Author and Historian
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2007

M. S. Swaminathan

Founder and Chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
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2006

David W. Ehrenfeld

Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University
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2005

Sam Pitroda

Chairman, World Tel Ltd.: Chairman, National Knowledge Commission
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2004

Peter H. Raven

President, Missouri Botanical Gardens


About Dr T N Khoshoo

Dr Triloki Nath Khoshoo (27 April 1927-10 June 2002), founder trustee of ATREE, was a world-renowned environmental scientist and an able administrator. Dr Khoshoo started his career as co-founder of the Department of Botany at the Punjab University, Lahore, which moved to Khalsa College, Amritsar, soon after the partition of India. After a brief stint as Chairman of the Botany Department at Jammu and Kashmir University, he joined the National Botanical Gardens, Lucknow, in 1964, as Assistant Director. He soon became the Director, and due to his untiring efforts, the institution rose to the stature of being the National Botanical Research Institute in 1978.

Dr Khoshoo became the first Secretary of the newly created Department of Environment of the Government of India in 1982, with the responsibility of developing an environment policy for the country. In 1985, he joined the Tata Energy Research Institute as a Distinguished Fellow and contributed to public policy discussions at national as well as international forums. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1992 and the Sasakawa Environment Prize by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1996.

Dr Khoshoo was a prolific writer. Over the course of five decades, he authored more than 250 research papers on plant genetics and evolution, biomass, energy, forestry, conservation and, the utilization and management of natural resources. He has written seven books and edited eleven more on a wide range of subjects. His book 'Mahatma Gandhi: An Apostle of Applied Human Ecology', published in 1996, was widely applauded for his interpretation of the practical relevance of Gandhian views.