NEW YORK (Diya TV) — Assamese scientist Purnima Devi Barman was recognized in Time Magazine’s Women of the Year 2025 list for her groundbreaking conservation efforts involving the greater adjutant stork, a bird considered to be one of the world’s most threatened.

Barman’s passion for the conservation of wildlife began in 2007 when she saw a cut-down tree that was once occupied by a group of greater adjutant storks in Assam, India. The ordeal of seeing the baby storks stranded drew Barman’s attention to the image of the bird among the community as a pest and omen of ill. The encounter brought forth Barman’s commitment to saving the bird species.​

At that point, the larger adjutant stork population in the area had reduced to some 450. As a response, Barman established the “Hargila Army,” a people’s movement that involved about 20,000 women who committed themselves to protecting the stork habitat and spreading awareness among communities about its ecological value.

All their work has contributed towards boosting the population of the stork to more than 1,800, prompting the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to drop the species from “endangered” to “near threatened” in 2023.​

Barman’s boldness comes with a twist of connecting conservation with female empowerment, creating a sustainable, community-based movement. Her work has also drawn international acclaim, as it has inspired conservation efforts outside of Assam, extending to other regions of India and even international locales such as Cambodia and France. 

In 2017, she won the Whitley Award, commonly called the “Green Oscars,” which is given by Princess Anne. In 2022, she was awarded the United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award in the Entrepreneurial Vision category. In 2024, she was awarded the Whitley Gold Award by the Whitley Fund for Nature.​

Looking back, Barman was pleased to have included the greater adjutant stork in local culture and traditions. With activities such as embroidering traditional garments with stork designs, the “Hargila Army” has changed the bird’s perception from a much-criticized scavenger to one of communal pride and conservation achievement.