Riddhima Yadav

Young Naturalist Awards (2013)

Riddhima Yadav She has been engaged with biodiversity conservation since she was 10 years old. Currently a part of the vibrant Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN), she was selected to attend the National Geographic Student Expedition 2011 to Costa Rica for Biodiversity and Conservation. A Leadearth Fellow and REX Global Karmaveer Fellow, she has spoken about environmental issues at various forums like the UNEP Tunza Asia Pacific Conference 2012, Asia Youth Leader’s Summit 2013 and TEDxYouth@Chennai 2013.

Articulate and inspiring, at the age of 13, Riddhima launched her own taskforce, Youth for the Environment (YFTE). Today, she balances academics with activism in the best possible way by stirring other young persons to get involved with issues that will determine their future very soon. She has been one of the Youth Advocates for WWF-India’s Earth Hour and has been one of CNN-IBN’s young citizen journalists, highlighting environmental issues. All this has earned her some well-deserved recognition and she was selected to be part of Stanford University’s Education Programme for Gifted Youth. 

Who knows what lies ahead for young Riddhima Yadav but given her ambition, her penchant for adventure and her dogged persistence, it is clear she is going to be one of the driving forces for India’s environmental future.

For this, we honour her.