Tour operator and wildlife photographer/ornithologist, Winston Nanan yesterday received this year's Environmental Award from the Hindu Prachaar Kendra during the annual "Ganga Dhaara" festival, Blanchisseuse.

Nanan began his career at a tender age while assisting his father, Simon Oudit Nanan, with tours into the Caroni Swamp Bird Sanctuary.

He has been photographing wildlife and has decades of experience and a comprehensive knowledge of avian life.

President and founder of Caroni Wetlands Scientific Trust, Nanan said: "I am extremely happy to be recognised for the work I do."

Kendra leader, Geeta Vahini said Nanan showed great concern for the protection of the environment and wildlife and had also extended his services to the other Caribbean countries and those in Central and South America.

"He is an expert on the flora and fauna of the Caroni Swamp Bird Sanctuary and familiar with the flora and fauna of Trinidad and Tobago, the islands of the Caribbean and Central and South America gleaned from a lifetime of experience," she said.

She said Nanan was the only native naturalist with a comprehensive knowledge of the flora and fauna of both Trinidad and Tobago as well as the other neighbouring countries.

Started in the early thirties, Nanan's Bird Sanctuary Tours is one of the oldest tour groups in the country.Vahini said the company has grown slowly into one of the most prominent outfits in the tour business.

During a recent interview, Nanan said for the benefit of the business, he had to introduce eco-tourism and trained guides in the art of observation. The workers form part of a unit for the protection of wildlife and the environment, he said.

An accomplished wildlife photographer and cinematographer, Nanan has studied the movements of the Scarlet Ibis and has documented, on film, the life cycle of the Gray (common) Potoo.