Prof. RK Sinha, Patna University has been awarded Order of the Golden Ark on 27th Nov’99 by His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands for his devotion to conservation of the biodiversity of the Ganga, especially the Gangetic Dolphin. This is the Most Excellent Order, officially recognised in the Netherlands.
The Order of the Golden Ark founded in 1971, by H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands is conferred for the establishment, conferral and administration of the Golden Ark, which serves to decorate those who have performed exceptional services for the conservation of flora and fauna on earth.
Since the order was founded, about 300 people have been decorated by the Prince. This year eleven people from all over the world were selected for the award. Dr. Sinha is the only one from India.
The other previous awardees from India include Late Smt. Indira Gandhi, Late Rajiv Gandhi, Dr. MS Swaminathan, Late Salim Ali, Prof. S Dhillon Ripley, Dr. Ashok Khosla, Dr. MS Partha Sarthy, Ms. Vandana Shiva, Dr. MK Ranjit Singh and Mr. Samar Singh.
Prof. RK Sinha has been working on bio-monitoring and bio-diversity under the Ganga Action Plan from 1985 onwards. His work on Gangetic Dolphin Conservation has been acclaimed worldwide. He has 60 research papers and articles to his credit. Recently, Dr. Sinha gave a presentation of his work in the Ministry in a meeting held to felicitate him on the honour conferred on him.