Winners
Award includes 'Rajat Kamal' (Silver Lotus) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:
| Awards legends | |
|---|---|
 | Awarded as Best Scientific Film / Best Environment / Conservation / Preservation Film |
 | Awarded as Best Agricultural Film / Best Environment / Conservation / Preservation Film |
| List of films, showing the year, language(s), producer(s), director(s) and citation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film(s) | Language(s) | Producer(s) | Director(s) | Citation | Refs. |
| 1989 (37th) | The Deer on the Lake | English | Aribam Syam Sharma | Aribam Syam Sharma | For the creative use of the cinematic medium in explaining the complexities of the ecosystem of the Loktak lake, its floating islands and the greed of man that led to the near extinction of the Sangai, the Deer of Manipur. | [1] |
| 1990 (38th) | Pratikriya | Desiya | Rahat Yusufi | Rahat Yusufi | For dealing with the problem of the environment at the grassroots level, combining the talent to handle ordinary people and get excellent performances out of them, with a clarity of message and commitment to the cause. | [2] |
| 1991 (39th) | Mudialy Ekti Bikalpa Pantha (The Mudialy Alternative) | English | Dilip Kumar Roy | Samiran Dutta | For faithfully presenting people's participation in improving and conserving the environment. | [3] |
| 1992 (40th) | Ladhakh: The Forbidden Wilderness | English | Bedi Films | Naresh Bedi | For an authentic rendition of civilisation and wildlife on the roof of the world. | [4] |
| 1993 (41st) | Orchids of Manipur | Manipuri | Sh. Tomchou Singh | Aribam Syam Sharma | For a colorful and extremely aesthetic presentation of the exalting abundance of the wild orchids of Manipur. | [5] |
| 1994 (42nd) | Visuddha Vanangal | Malayalam | Kerala State Film Development Corporation | K. R. Mohanan | For its analytical clarity and rigorous research in addressing a specific ecological issue. | [6] |
| 1995 (43rd) | Amrit Beeja | •English • Kannada | Meera Dewan | Meera Dewan | For successfully recording our traditions in the field of preservation of environment by women. | [7] |
| 1996 (44th) | Rabia Chalikkunnu | Malayalam | Abraham Benhur | Ali Akbar | For its credible and inspiring portrayal of a young girl who overcomes her physical and social disabilities and becomes a role model for society. | [8] |
| 1997 (45th) | Nature's Sentinels: Bishnoi | Hindi | Y. N. Engineer for Films Division | •Late P. C. Sharma •Shankar Patnaik | For a forceful portrayal of a little known community's longstanding crusade for environmental conservation. | [9] |
| 1998 (46th) | Willing To Sacrifice | English | Dayakar Rao | B. V. Rao | For an honest portrayal of the sacred convictions of a people for whom conservation is a way of life. | [10] |
| 1999 (47th) | And The Bamboo Blooms | English | Films Division | Joshy Joseph | For its creative approach to the importance of bamboo in the economic and social lives of the people of Manipur and Mizoram. | [11] |
| 2000 (48th) | The Nest | Bengali | Sparsh Productions | Supriyo Sen | For painstaking effort on capturing the uncompromising dedication oh Jatin Mahato (Midnapore, West Bengal), a heroic conservator and protector of migratory and endangered birds. | [12] |
| 2001 (49th) | The Holy Ganga | Hindi | Y. N. Engineer for Films Division | Viplove Bhatia | For its thought provoking content which makes the viewers realize how badly the mother Ganga is treated. | [13] |
| 2002 (50th) | Urumattram | Tamil | • B.Sivakumar •G. Meenakshi Sundaram | B.Sivakumar | For moving short fiction that captures the depth of human emotions embodied in mans relationship to nature that nurtures him. Even as all seems lost to the family patriarch as trees must make way for a plastic factory, the grand son offers seeds of hope. | [14] |
| 2003 (51st) | The 18 Elephant: Three Monologues | Malayalam | Savithri Divakaran | P. Balan | For using the novel method of elephants narrating their own story (in human voice) to raise a cry against "man centric" concept of development. The film also succeeds in raising bigger issues of ecological balance, and cruelty to animals. | [15] |
| 2004 (52nd) | Timeless Traveller-The Horseshoe Crab | English | Riverbank Studios | Gautam Pandey | For venturing to explore the most enigmatic creature, very scientific and analytic manner effectively urging mankind to conserve this unique species. | [16] |
| 2005 (53rd) | Under This Sun | Bengali | Nilanjan Bhattacharya | Nilanjan Bhattacharya | For a thought provoking film on environmental diversity with excellent Cinematography, Music, Editing and Sound Design. | [17] |
| 2006 (54th) | Kalpavriksha: Legacy Of Forests | English | Mike Pandey | Nina Subramani | For bringing out the symbiotic relationship between forests and human life and underlining the need for conserving the rich bio diversity still existing in our remaining forests. | [18] |
| 2007 (55th) | Bhanga Ghara | Bengali | FTII | Nilanjan Datta | For championing the cause of environmental conservation. The film depicts the contrast between two regions of the Malda district as they come to terms with the inevitable flow of nature. While one faces the eroding onslaught of the river Ganga, the other renews itself to survive amidst the scarcity of water. | [19] |
| 2008 (56th) | No Award | [20] | ||||
| 2009 (57th) | In For Motion | English | Amlan Dutta | Anirban Dutta | For portraying the changing scenario in the urban environment where burgeoning and mindless development is swallowing agricultural lands. | [21] |
| 2010 (58th) | Iron is Hot | English | Meghnath Bhattacharjee | • Biju Toppo •Meghnath Bhattacharjee | For the film which is well documented with a forthright exposition of the grievous impact of pollution due to sponge iron industry on the inhabitants dwelling around that area. With clarity and veracity, the film maker is able to express empathy and concern on the acute prevailing problem over human existence. | [22] |
| 2011 (59th) | Tiger Dynasty | English | S. Nallamuthu | S. Nallamuthu | For the filmmaker's powerful narrative that takes us deep into the jungle of Sariska and gives us an intimate and sensitive portrait of the life of tigers as they fight for survival in a challenging environment. | [23] |
| 2012 (60th) | Timbaktu | English | Public Service Broadcasting Trust | •Rintu Thomas •Sushmit Ghosh | For a film that chronicles an initiative to regenerate degraded land through the means of organic farming, portraying a miraculous transformation in a quietly convincing way. | [24] |
| 2013 (61st) | Foresting Life | •Hindi • Assamese | Humanity Watchdog Foundation | Aarti Shrivastava | For its earthy look at a man, the forest he created all by himself, and the heroic effort that is necessary to sustain that forest without any government help. | [25] |
| 2014 (62nd) | I Cannot Give You My Forest | English | Top Quark Films Pvt. Ltd. | •Nandan Saxena •Kavita Bahl | For its concerned and empathetic exploration of the tribal communities in Rayagada, Orissa, who derive their sustenance and identity from the forest. | [26] |
| 2015 (63rd) | The Man Who Dwarfed The Mountains | English | • Rajiv Mehrotra • PSBT | •Ruchi Shrivastava •Sumit Sunderlal Khanna | An urge to embrace for a better habitat. | [27] |
| God On The Edge | •Hindi •English | Elements Picture Studio | Ashok Patel | For rediscovering the distances between man and the wild. | ||
| 2016 (64th) | The Tiger Who Crossed The Line | English | Krishnendu Bose | Krishnendu Bose | A beautifully designed film that raises critical questions on the future of India's national animal. | [28] |
| 2017 (65th) | The Pangti Story | Rajiv Mehrotra | Sesino Yhoshü | A positive film on Pangti's annual foreign guests – the magnificent Amur Falcon – and community efforts to save the bird from poachers | ||
| 2018 (66th) | The World's Most Famous Tiger | Natural History Unit India | S. Nallamuthu | For capturing the life and extraordinary legacy of Machli, the erstwhile Queen of Ranthambore, and her part in regenerating tiger population that helps keep the forest alive. | ||