- This year’s Whitley Awards have been given to seven conservationists chosen from a pool of over 120 applicants from 53 countries for their “innovative conservation projects”.
- At an awards ceremony held last evening at the Royal Geographic Society in London, the seven winning conservationists received £35,000 (~$50,700) in project funding.
- Hotlin Ompusunggu from Borneo won the 2016 Whitley Gold Award that is given to an outstanding past recipient of a Whitley Award who has gone on to make a significant contribution to conservation.
This year’s Whitley Awards — often referred to as the “Green Oscars” — has been given to seven conservationists chosen from a pool of over 120 applicants from 53 countries for their “innovative conservation projects”. Presented annually since 1994, the Whitley Awards are given to individuals in recognition of “their achievements in nature conservation.”
At an awards ceremony held last evening at the Royal Geographic Society in London, each winner received £35,000 (~$50,700) in project funding. The award money will help the conservationists scale up their work to conserve some of the planet’s most endangered species and iconic places.
The 2016 winners include Gilbert Baase Adum from Ghana, Farwiza Farhan from Indonesia, Makala Jasper from Tanzania, Karau Kuna from Papua New Guinea, Muhammad Ali Nawaz from Pakistan, Alexander Rukhaia from Georgia and Juliette Velosoa from Madagascar. The seven conservationists have been working to save a wide range of species and landscapes, such as the Huon tree kangaroo, giant squeaker frogs, snow leopards, coastal forests, birds of prey, and side-necked turtles.
“Whitley Award winners are simply exceptional people – passionate individuals who are committed to achieving positive environmental impact and long-term conservation and community benefits,” Sir David Attenborough, a Trustee of the Whitley Fund for Nature, said in a statement.
Hotlin Ompusunggu from Borneo won the 2016 Whitley Gold Award that is given to an outstanding past recipient of a Whitley Award who has gone on to make a significant contribution to conservation. Hotlin, who is a dental surgeon, received the Whitley Award in 2011.
Hotlin’s project provides healthcare incentives for local people to reduce exploitation of rainforest habitat in Indonesia. Since 2011, her project has helped reduce illegal logging in Indonesia, while improving the health of 24,000 people living around Gunung Palung National Park. The Gold Award will help Hotlin expand her project to new potential sites in Indonesia.
