Guwahati, Dec 22: Professor Dinabandhu Sahoo, widely recognised as the architect of India’s Cherry Blossom Festivals, has been awarded the Nature Care Award 2025 for his outstanding contribution to nature-based solutions addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
The honour was presented by the Nature Care Initiative, a national think tank, at a ceremony held at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi on Dec 20. The event was attended by dignitaries and experts from across the country.
Prof. Sahoo, an internationally acclaimed plant biologist, was instrumental in conceptualising and launching the country’s first Cherry Blossom festivals in Shillong, Meghalaya and Manipur in 2016 during his tenure as Director of the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), under the Government of India.
Currently serving as Head of the Department of Botany and Chairperson of the Research Council at the University of Delhi, Sahoo has been deeply involved in climate change research and sustainable bioresource management.
His pioneering work in seaweed cultivation—creating “underwater forests” to sequester carbon—has drawn global attention.
“Seaweeds can capture three to four times more carbon dioxide than terrestrial plants, helping reduce atmospheric CO₂ levels,” he said, adding that large-scale seaweed cultivation could also help tackle ocean acidification, which he described as a looming environmental crisis.
Prof. Sahoo is also credited with launching the “Grow a Tree for Life” campaign across universities and colleges, encouraging youth participation in conservation initiatives.
A noted explorer, he was the first Indian student to join a government scientific expedition to Antarctica in 1987–88.
Two plant species — Prunus dinabandhuana (a cherry blossom species) and Caulokaempferia dinabandhuensis (a ginger species) — have been named after him in recognition of his scientific achievements.
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