As Supriya Sahu stepped onto the stage in Nairobi this week, the moment carried more than an international honour. It carried years of work shaped in places where climate change had already begun to touch daily life.

It carried memories of government school classrooms during peak summer, where children struggled to concentrate as temperatures rose. It carried images from the Nilgiris, where wildlife fed on plastic waste left behind by people. It carried the urgency of coastlines, forests, and wetlands that communities depend on.

Witnessing our mangrove revolution take formidable shape building resilience for Tamil Nadu’s beautiful coastline gives us great satisfaction. On World Mangrove Day 202 let us celebrate these climate super heroes that store 3,754 tons of carbon per ha, cut wave heights by 99%… pic.twitter.com/EGGCVO0JLo

On 10 December 2025, the Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer was awarded the UN Environment Programme’s ‘Champions of the Earth’ award, the highest environmental honour given by the United Nations. She was recognised for her leadership in sustainable cooling and ecosystem........

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