An award-winning conservationist from India is helping women thousands of miles away take the lead in protecting one of the world's most unusual and endangered birds.
Green Oscar recipient and UNEP Champion of the Earth Purnima Devi Barman brought her celebrated "Hargila Army" model from Assam, India, to Cambodia's Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary, a Ramsar wetland site in the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.
As reported by the Assam Tribune, the one-day program gathered 20 women conservationists and park rangers from across the country for hands-on, community-centered training in protecting the endangered Greater Adjutant Stork and other wetland wildlife.
Barman's approach blends science and culture to make conservation part of daily life. By adapting this model for Cambodia, she's not only protecting wildlife but also creating leadership opportunities and sustainable livelihoods for women.
"This is not just about saving a species but about empowering communities, especially women, to become guardians of nature by weaving conservation into the fabric of their culture and daily lives," Barman said. "The energy and resolve of the women of Prek Toal deeply moved me."
The training included leadership exercises, cultural integration activities, and even a "textile hunt" exploring how nature appears in local fabrics and traditions. Participants also helped launch a new global alliance — the "Sisters and Brothers of Storks" — to connect conservationists across borders. Educational posters designed by Barman, illustrating stork behavior, were unveiled to boost awareness and coexistence with wetland species.
This initiative is recognized as a milestone in "South-South" cooperation, proving how countries in the Global South can share successful grassroots strategies to tackle biodiversity loss while uplifting communities.
Conserving biodiversity is essential to protecting ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. To learn more about how to protect our interconnected ecosystems, check out this starter guide to taking local action.
"Joining the hargila army gave me a chance to show everyone that I could do something meaningful with my life," Daivaki Saikia told the Guardian.
"Magic happens when we involve communities," Barman said. "The Hargila Army is like a sisterhood network among the women."
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