This year’s Whitley Awards honor six grassroots conservationists from South Asia, South America, and Africa protecting a range of wildlife and habitats, from threatened amphibians to marine and freshwater fish and lions.
Dubbed the “Green Oscars,” the awards are presented annually by U.K. charity the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), and honor grassroots leaders from the Global South, channeling a total 420,000 pounds (about $566,000) to urgent conservation projects.
The six conservationists each received 50,000 pounds ($67,300). Additionally, the Whitley Gold Award of 100,000 pounds (about $135,000), awarded to a past Whitley Award recipient, was presented to Indonesian conservationist Farwiza Farhan.
The awards ceremony was held April 29 at the Royal Geographical Society in London and included a special tribute to WFN ambassador and presenter David Attenborough, turning 100 on May 8.
“Receiving the Whitley award gives us the chance to strengthen communities, protect more nests, and secure a future for the Indian skimmer,” said Parveen Shaikh, a winner, during her awards speech. “And perhaps, in protecting this river, we are also protecting something far more fragile: our connection to the wild.”
Barkha Subba from India works with communities in Darjeeling, West Bengal state, to protect the rare Himalayan salamander (Tylototriton himalayanus) within a rapidly transforming tea estate landscape.
Parveen Shaikh, also from India, is expanding community-led riverine conservation for the Indian skimmer (Rynchops albicollis) to Prayagraj in the Ganga Basin. Her initiative has led to significant recovery in the endangered waterbird’s population.
Issah Seidu from Ghana is working to save threatened guitarfish along his country’s coastline. He’s mapping critical habitats of four guitarfish species to establish the country’s first locally managed marine area.
Marina Kameni from Cameroon is leading the “Frogs and Farmers” initiative in the southwestern part of the country to protect threatened amphibians. The region is also home to the Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), the world’s largest.
Moreangels Mbiza from Zimbabwe is expanding a coexistence model of conservation that allows lions to move between protected areas and community land. She has led interventions that have helped reduce human-wildlife conflict incidents in some areas by up to 98%.
Paola Sangolquí from Ecuador is safeguarding the nesting sites of the critically endangered Galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) from invasive species on private land. She aims to develop a global model for the conservation of seabird nesting colonies.
“As a woman belonging to an indigenous mountain community, winning a Whitley Award means both recognition of years of work on conservation and opportunity to spread this work across the Himalayan landscape,” said Barkha Subba at the awards ceremony.
The Whitley Gold Award was presented to Farwiza Farhan from Indonesia. She leads the NGO HAkA, working to protect the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra, a 2.7-million-hectare (6.6-million-acre) UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s the only place on Earth where orangutans, elephants, rhinos and tigers still coexist.
