Whitley Fund for Nature awards over £600,000 to conservation heroes – read the latest achievements from the winners
(Posted 17th September 2015)
Here are some of WFN’s fantastic science and environment features from the latest recipients of more than £600,000 of funding from the prestigious Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN). Working in developing countries where pressure on natural resources is high, the challenges conservationists face are immense; from fighting bureaucracy, crime and corruption – often at great personal risk – to protecting habitat, resolving human-wildlife conflict and developing sustainable alternatives for local communities.
Over the past 20 years, WFN has provided nearly £12 million of funding and training, recognising more than 170 conservation leaders in over 70 countries, supporting a range of projects to conserve endangered species that are founded on scientific evidence and community engagement.
With so much information at hand, we have created a table detailing the key countries and species benefitting from WFN grants in 2015, and the conservation experts and former Whitley Award winners who have secured the funding. Details of each project follows at the end of this email and if you would like further information or to speak with one of the experts, please contact Firebird Public Relations.
| Country | Species under threat | Project | Expert |
| Russia | Amur tigers
Amur leopards |
Using drone technology to fight the threat of big cat poaching and illegal salmon fishing in Russia | Sergei Bereznuk, Phoenix Fund |
| Brazil | Black lion tamarins, jaguars, lowland tapirs | Reforesting corridors to connect Brazil’s Atlantic Forest | Laury Cullen, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ) |
| Russia, China, Mongolia | Bird, fish and plant species in freshwater ecosystems of the Amur-Basin | Protecting the freshwater ecosystems of the Amur basin from large-scale hydropower development | Eugene Simonov, “Rivers without Boundaries” (RwB) |
| Turkey,
Gokova Bay |
Monk seals, sandbar sharks and other marine species | Turkey’s first community managed Marine Protected Area | Zafer Kizilkaya, Mediterranean Conservation Society (MCS |
| Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania | Grey crowned cranes | Saving Grey Crowned Cranes from illegal trade in Africa | Kerryn Morrison, Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) |
| Peru | Marine fauna, mammals, sea turtles and seabirds | Transforming fish-to-market systems and technology of local sea fishermen in Peru to protect marine habitats | Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, ProDelphinus |
| India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan | Snow leopards | Protecting endangered snow leopards and their habitat across their range | Charudutt Mishra, Snow Leopard Trust (SLT) |
| Turkey | Lynx, wolf, brown bear | Ground-breaking monitoring of wolf, bear and lynx populations, tracking behaviour and movement patterns in the forests of Turkey’s first wildlife corridor | Ça?an ?ekercio?lu, KuzeyDo?a |
| Argentina, Chile,
South Africa, New Zealand |
Penguins | Safeguarding the world’s penguin populations from poor fisheries management, pollution and loss of nesting and feeding habitat | Pablo Borboroglu, Global Penguin Society (GPS) |
| Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil | River dolphins | Protection of river dolphins in the Amazon basin from the threats of hydropower development and mota fish industry | Fernando Trujillo, Foundation Omacha |
Working in developing countries where pressure on natural resources is high, the challenges conservationists face are immense; from fighting bureaucracy, crime and corruption – often at great personal risk – to protecting habitat, resolving human-wildlife conflict and developing sustainable alternatives for local communities.
Over the past 20 years, the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) has provided nearly £12 million of funding and training, recognising more than 170 conservation leaders in over 70 countries, supporting a range of projects to conserve endangered species that are founded on scientific evidence and community engagement.
Each year Whitley Awards, often referred to as the ‘Green Oscars’ and worth £35,000 in project funding over one year, are awarded to seven conservation leaders. As Whitley Award alumni, the best of these individuals are eligible to apply for further funding available from WFN.
New funding awarded totalling £315,000
Six former Whitley Award winners have been awarded a total of £315,000 in funding from WFN in 2015 to help scale-up their successful work. The projects being supported range from using innovative technologies to prevent poaching and over-exploitation of endangered species, to the creation of protected and connected marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats.
Using drone technology to fight the threat of big cat poaching and illegal salmon fishing in Russia
Species under threat: Amur Tigers, Amur leopards and wild salmon
Country in focus: Russia
Available for interview: Sergei Bereznuk, Phoenix Fund
Funds awarded in 2015: £35,000
Less than 500 Amur tigers remain in the wild in Russia where they, and their prey, are the target of poaching, while Amur leopard numbers have fallen to critical levels with fewer than 50 remaining in their range habitat. The waters of the region are also at high risk of illegal fishing, plundering salmon stocks, as well as largescale logging and industrial development degrading and destroying their natural habitat.
· Sergei is working to ensure the long term survival of Endangered Amur tigers and Critically Endangered Amur leopards in the Russian Far East, by improving efficiency of anti-poaching efforts.
· Innovative use of UAV’s (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to monitor tiger numbers, track poachers and spot forest fires so action can be taken to tackle these threats swiftly, as they occur.
· UAVs provide access into previously unreachable areas and a safe view of illegal activities on the ground, while reducing energy and financial costs of wildlife monitoring.
· Without salmon, there would be no bears or tigers – work is underway to increase local awareness of salmon conservation which are under threat from illegal big business fishing, logging, forest fires and industrial development.
· GoPro cameras will be used to enhance the performance of the UAVs, which can also be used to cover vast bodies of water to detect illegal anglers and carry out inspections on salmon habitats under threat.
· Ground patrols will also continue in 8 protected areas, using the latest anti-poaching rapid response systems.
Reforesting corridors to connect Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
Species under threat: Black lion tamarin, jaguars, lowland tapirs and other forest dwelling animals in the Atlantic Forest region
Country in focus: Brazil
Available for interview: Laury Cullen, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ)
Funds awarded in 2015: £70,000
Brazil’s Atlantic Forest has almost as many species as the Amazon. Despite this, 85% has been cleared to make way for development and agriculture plantations. The small pockets of remaining land cannot support viable populations of endangered species such as the black lion tamarin which are trapped there.
· Since 2002, Laury and his team have planted over 1.4 million native trees to create a 700 hectare corridor – Brazil’s largest – connecting two important remnants of Atlantic Forest to allow movement of wildlife populations.
· This project will reforest a further 20 hectares of land, including five hectares of shade grown coffee, completing the corridor.
· 200,000 trees for replanting the corridor will be produced in community nurseries, providing additional income to local people. Saplings will be planted using the latest tried and tested techniques.
· Shade coffee plantations allow for forest canopy cover to be retained whilst coffee is grown underneath. These small scale plots will bolster farmer’s income and act as ‘stepping stones’ for wildlife travelling between forest patches.
· The corridor and surrounding stepping stones will enable the movement of endangered wildlife populations such as the black lion tamarin, lowland tapir and jaguar, between highly fragmented forest patches, thereby reducing their susceptibility to in-breeding and extinction.
Protecting the freshwater ecosystems of the Amur basin from large-scale hydropower development
Species under threat: Bird, fish and plant species in freshwater ecosystems of the Amur-Basin
Country in focus: Russia, China, Mongolia
Available for interview: Eugene Simonov, “Rivers without Boundaries” (RwB)
Funds awarded in 2015: £70,000
The harnessing of hydropower as a source of ‘renewable and clean energy’ through largescale damming of rivers in China, Russia and Mongolia has seen a significant revival, particularly in China, where a decision has been made to dam all remaining domestic rivers in next 10 years. However hydropower is not renewable or clean technology as it causes serious degradation to irreplaceable freshwater ecosystems.
· RwB aims to address dam allocation schemes for whole basins, to try to reduce the number of dams being constructed, and ensure that developers carry out Environmental Impact Assessments as standard practice so the most destructive dams can be avoided, sustaining unaltered floodplains and unobstructed fish migration routes in the long term.
· In the next five years RwB aims to preserve free-flowing rivers from damming and excessive water withdrawal, and where possible, halt hydropower projects proposed for the Amur basin’s main river stem and most sensitive tributaries
· The organisation will promote alternative power methods and aim to redirect resources from destructive projects into more biodiversity friendly options, such as wind and solar energy.
· RwB will expand its work into the Selenge-Baikal Basin where Lake Baikal World Heritage Site has already been compromised by damming, aiming to reduce plans of six new dam sites by the Mongolian government to one.
· With the emergence of an Asia SuperGrid, RwB seeks to ensure that strict rules are put in place to limit its impact on freshwater ecosystems.
· This project not only benefits wildlife but thousands of people living and farming alongside rives, who are at risk of flooding should damming go ahead.
Turkey’s first community managed Marine Protected Area
Species under threat: Monk seals, sandbar sharks and other marine species in Gokova Bay
Country in focus: Turkey, Gökova Bay
Available for interview: Zafer Kizilkaya, Mediterranean Conservation Society (MCS)
Funds awarded in 2015: £70,000
Over 200 small scale fishermen depend on Gökova Bay for their livelihoods, but the depletion of fish stocks in recent years has had a serious impact on the local economy and endangered species. A network of No Fishing Zones (NFZs) have been declared, however, due to the size of the area, enforcement is difficult and illegal fishing activities are commonplace.
· To address illegal fishing in marine protected areas, Zafer aims to establish the first co-management model in Turkey between MCS and government, scale up monitoring and enforcement efforts against illegal fishing in the Bay, and succeed in introducing EU fishing regulations to the area, which would be a first for Turkey.
· MCS will launch new ranger boats and work with coastguards to patrol a larger area covering the Bay’s ‘No Fishing Zones’, which are helping to restore fish stocks and have increased revenue for local fishermen by 53%.
· Increase community participation in reporting illegal fishing and endangered species sightings such as monk seals and sandbar sharks which have recently returned to the Bay and are an indication of healthy marine ecosystems.
· Raise awareness of the ‘Size Matters’ campaign to educate fishermen, restaurant owners and local leisure industries on the importance of not catching, buying or selling undersized fish.
· Help local communities set up alternative income streams in the bay that boost income and reduce pressure on marine resources such as traditional ‘pesca-tourism’.
· Set up long term monitoring programmes in the bay to inform management decisions.
Saving Grey Crowned Cranes from illegal trade in Africa
Species under threat: Grey Crowned Cranes
Country in focus: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania
Available for interview: Kerryn Morrison, Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT)
Funds awarded in 2015: £35,000
The Grey Crowned Crane was considered the most common crane in Africa in 2004. It is now the fastest declining crane species in the world, with numbers decreasing by up to 80% in the last 45 years due to habitat loss, poaching and illegal trade of eggs and chicks.
· Kerryn aims to address habitat loss and illegal capture and trade in Grey Crowned Cranes by establishing a coordinated East African regional project and team to tackle the threats faced by the species.
· To address habitat loss, EWT aim to protect and restore up to ten of the crane’s most important breeding sites in East Africa – the region experiencing the most dramatic declines – whilst working with 300 families to develop sustainable livelihoods and improve wetland management.
· To tackle trade, EWT will launch a media campaign to raise awareness about the illegal crane trade. Governments in key trading countries will be engaged, and ways to improve enforcement and target traffickers will be explored.
· Bring all relevant country government and species expert representatives together to agree on and endorse implementation of the International Grey Crowned Crane Single Species Action Plan.
· EWT has also been working with the global zoo community to develop a breeding stud book to ensure captive bred populations are viable.
Transforming fish-to-market systems and technology of local sea fishermen in Peru to protect marine habitats
Species under threat: Marine fauna including sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds
Country in focus: Peru
Available for interview: Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, ProDelphinus
Funds awarded in 2015: £35,000
The coast of Lima, Peru, has one of the most productive fisheries in the world. But over-fishing and the accidental capture of non-target ‘bycatch’ species in fishing nets is damaging this amazing marine ecosystem.
· Joanna is working to establish a new vessel-to-market tracking system which promotes marine conservation and small-scale fishery sustainability. Whilst creating a market for sustainably fished products it provides an incentive for the adoption of sustainable fishing practices and reduces poverty by selling sustainable products at a higher price, with profits filtering down.
· Restaurants in Lima will place standing orders for fulfilment by participating fishermen. Vessels will be monitored to ensure compliance at-sea and allow for assessment of bycatch and catch quantities. Product scanning and tracking will confirm the chain of custody from vessel to marketplace. Products delivered through this system will be differentiated en-route and in the marketplace through a labelling system to promote ‘brand’ loyalty and customer satisfaction.
· Technology and equipment will also be given initially to a small fleet of 40 local fishermen in Peru’s San Jose port including: acoustic alarms (pingers) to reduce accidental bycatch of cetaceans such as dolphins and whales, LED net lighting to reduce bycatch of marine turtles and seabirds, and line cutters to facilitate safe release of accidentally caught marine fauna.
· Training will be given on net patrolling, safe handling and release procedures to reduce injury and mortality rates of bycatch.
· Information and training in sustainable fisheries will be delivered to 12 researchers to implement similar initiatives in their home countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile, creating a network of marine conservationists.
Partnership Funding
In 2014, WFN launched a new 3-year grant called Partnership Funding to fund the work of 4 conservation heroes based in India, Turkey, Argentina and Colombia. Awarding these Whitley Award winners a combined total of €1.35 million this new grant is funding urgent conservation action to save some of the world’s most threatened and charismatic species and their natural homes, including snow leopards, penguins, river dolphins and some of far Eastern Europe’s last large carnivores, wolves and bears.
Made possible by a generous donation from long-term donor Fondation Segré, Partnership Funding offers sustained annual funding over 3 years to conservations leaders working at the coalface, on the grassroots issues that require ongoing effort working with local communities, scientists and local and regional governments to effectively protect endangered species.
One year into their projects, the winners report back on their latest achievements:
Protecting endangered snow leopards and their habitat across their range
Species under threat: Snow Leopards
Countries in focus: India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan
Available for interview: Charudutt Mishra, Snow Leopard Trust (SLT)
Grant size: €337,500 over three years
· For the first time, governments in all 12 snow leopard range countries are coming together to agree actions to conserve these big cats and their habitat
· Working with range country governments, SLT have identified 23 priority landscapes covering almost 25% of snow leopard habitat to be protected by 2020 and ensure populations remain connected.
· A programme has been launched in collaboration with the government of Kyrgyzstan and community rangers to help combat poaching of snow leopards at the national level.
· In country capacity to conserve snow leopards has been bolstered with the training of young female conservationists as part of the programme.
· Over 4,000 herder families have been engaged in community conservation initiatives, such as livestock insurance schemes and handicraft production, which has raised $1million to date.
· More than 1,000 children have been reached through environmental education programmes.
· The development of an international snow leopard friendly cashmere industry is being explored.
· 20 snow leopards have been collared to track their movements using GPS satellites, while several pioneering studies have been initiated to shed light on the ecology and behaviour of these elusive animals, and the economic, political and social dynamics surrounding their conservation.
Safeguarding the world’s penguin populations from poor fisheries management, pollution and loss of nesting and feeding habitat
Species under threat: Penguins
Countries in focus: Argentina, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand
Available for interview: Pablo Borboroglu, Global Penguin Society (GPS)
Grant size: €337,500 over three years
· Penguins across the entire Southern Hemisphere are benefitting from this project and GPS are putting a spotlight on the need for ocean conservation through the creation and expansion of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
· UNESCO has approved creation of the Blue Patagonia Biosphere Reserve following nomination by GPS. Covering an area the size of Belgium, the reserve will protect40% of the world’s Magellanic penguins.
· The IUCN Penguin Specialist Group has been established, to provide cutting-edge information to decision makers at the international level.
· The number of breeding pairs at El Pedral colony, Argentina, have increased from just 6, to over 1,000 since work began in 2007, demonstrating that GPS’s work is having a marked effect on population recovery.
· GPS are assisting the South African government to implement a Management Plan to conserve African penguins
· Feeding routes for the Fiordland penguin in New Zealand and King Penguins in Chile’s Strait of Magellan colony are being studied for the first time, in order to underpin their management and highlight key areas that should be protected.
Protection of river dolphins in the Amazon basin from the threats of hydropower development and mota fish industry
Species under threat: River dolphins
Countries in focus: Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil
Available for interview: Fernando Trujillo, Foundation Omacha
Grant size: €337,500 over three years
· Surveys mapping river dolphin numbers and range have been carried out as part of work to ensure dolphin conservation is incorporated into legal protocols followed by hydro-power companies when putting forward proposals for new dams in the Amazon Basin.
· A new species of river dolphin has been identified.
· An Action Plan for river dolphins and manatees has been created and shared with the Government of Peru.
· The mota trade, whereby river dolphins are killed and used as bait for the mota (catfish) industry, was successfully banned in Brazil. Following a government campaign against its consumption, some of Colombia’s large supermarkets have now stopped selling mota fish which not only harm river dolphins, but have been shown to contain high levels of mercury that exceed safe limits for human consumption set by the World Health Organisation.
· Conservation agreements have been established in the Tarapoto lakes systems (Colombia) to ensure sustainable management of fish stocks – upon which local people and dolphins rely – and the growing dolphin watching industry, benefitting 2,000 indigenous people.
Ground-breaking monitoring of wolf, bear and lynx populations, tracking behaviour and movement patterns in the forests of Turkey’s first wildlife corridor
Species under threat: Large carnivores (incl. brown bears, wolves and lynx)
Country in focus: Turkey
Available for interview: Ça?an ?ekercio?lu, KuzeyDo?a
Grant size: €337,500 over three years
· As the largest active conservation project in Turkey, KuzeyDo?a is connecting the Sar?kam??-Allahuekber National Park with the Black Sea coast and the Caucasus Mountains in neighbouring Georgia, creating the country’s first wildlife corridor, based on carnivore habitat use.
· Video collars or ‘crittercams’ have been successfully fitted to lynx, wolves and brown bears to enable researchers to record footage of their behaviour for the first time. The cameras have also deterred poachers from targeting the collared animals.
· Tracking data is also being used to support the creation of a road underpass or overpass to prevent wildlife fatalities to cars in road kill hotspots.
· A specialist “K9” scat detection dog is being used to accurately estimate brown bear population size in the Sarikami? forest.
· 50 hectares of land have been replanted by Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs.
· KuzeyDoga was chosen as one of the five most successful United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) projects in the world, and was the only Turkish NGO invited to the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) 5th Assembly meeting in Mexico.
· Ça?an received Turkey’s top science prize from Turkey’s President Erdogan in December 2014. Ça?an was the first biologist and youngest person to receive the Special Science Award from the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey.
