Afroz Shah is an Indian

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...

and lawyer from

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. He is best known for organizing the world's largest beach clean-up. In 2016, Shah was awarded the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Champion of the Earth title for singlehandedly initiating & leading the clean-up of Mumbai's Versova Beach. Shah partnered with the

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. They number approximately one million worldwide and have settled in over 40 countries around the world. The majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community re ...

's Turning the Tide campaign to remove plastic from the

Mithi river The Mithi River (Pronunciation: iʈʰiː is a river on Salsette Island, the island of the city of Mumbai, India. It is a confluence of tail-water discharges of the Powai and Vihar lakes. The river is seasonal and rises during the monsoons ...

and Dana Pani beach in Mumbai. Inspired by Afroz Shah's effort to clean beaches in Mumbai, the

United Nations Environment Program The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

launched the Clean Seas campaign globally. In 2019, Shah was listed as one of CNN's Top 10 Heroes of the Year.

Awards and honors

* United Nations

Champions of the Earth The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established Champions of the Earth in 2005 as an annual awards programme to recognize outstanding environmental leaders from the public and private sectors and from civil society. Award details T ...

2016 * CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2017 * CNN named him amongst its list of Top 10 Heroes of Year 2019 * GQ awarded the trophy for Eco Warrior of the Year 2019 PM of India

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

praised Shah's work for transforming Versova beach from filth and garbage to clean and beautiful during his radio programme ' Mann ki Baat' on 28 May 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Afroz Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Mumbai Activists from Mumbai 21st-century Indian lawyers Indian environmentalists