The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019 was on Monday conferred on Sir David Attenborough, British broadcaster and author whom former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described as “human voice of nature”.

Speaking at the award ceremony held through videoconference, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, “Sir David has been the most sensible voice warning us that we, more than anything else, are responsible for the accelerating threat to the environment on our planet. In essence, for well over half a century, Sir David has been one of Nature’s most staunch conscience keepers. Indira Gandhi too was one throughout her life. As Prime Minister, she became an unwavering champion of environmental protection long before that cause had become popular both in India and abroad.”

Manmohan Singh, who presented the award, said, “There can be no more deserving recipient of the award at this time when the world is gripped by growing anxiety over the state of our environment and our planet. If anyone who can be described as a living legend in the context of the natural world, it is Sir David. He has delighted us, entertained us, informed us and united us with nature in all its glories.”

In his acceptance speech, Attenborough, warning against reckless exploitation of nature, said that the world was heading towards a major crisis and all the nations will have to come together to save whatever was left of nature. Lamenting that humanity had overrun nature, felling half of the tropical forests in the world, he advised the countries to evolve a common currency to pay back the ecological debt and dedicate to the maintenance of remaining biodiversity and biological health of the world.