While 2020 will be remembered for many things, there will always be the prevailing sense of hope and unity that we all shared. The list below celebrates inspirational men and women from all walks of life who have dedicated their lives to the protection and conservation of wildlife around the world. They have been recognised and awarded by Tusk and Whitley Fund for Nature. See below for details of their projects.
Tusk Award Winners 2020
Tusk’s mission is to amplify the impact of progressive conservation initiatives across Africa. The charity has earned a reputation for providing a highly efficient solution for funding wildlife conservation programmes
Watch the Tusk Awards 2020 event here
- Hipolito Lima: winner of the Prince William Award for Conservation, for dedicating 26 years of his life to sea turtle conservation in Sao Tome and Principe
- Amos Gwema: winner of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award, who over the past 15 years has convicted more poachers than any other parks officer in Zimbabwe
- John Kamanga: winner of the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa, for securing co-existence between pastoralists and wildlife in Kenya
- George Owoyesigire: finalist for the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa, for turning around community attitudes towards conservation in Uganda
- Ian Stevenson: finalist for the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa, for reversing fortunes of Zambia’s Lower Zambezi
“These awards which mean a great deal to me personally, play a huge part in our mission to preserve Africa’s precious wildlife for its people. It is vital that we recognise the dedication of these unsung heroes and the bravery of rangers risking their lives, day and night, on conservation’s frontline. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”
– HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Tusk’s Royal Patron
Whitley Award Winners 2020
The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a fundraising and grant-giving nature conservation charity offering recognition, training and grants to support the work of proven grassroots conservation leaders across the Global South.
Watch the Whitley Awards 2020 here
- Gabriela Rezende: Connecting black lion tamarin populations in Brazil
- Jeanne Tarrant: A country-wide strategy for amphibians in South Africa
- YokYok “Yoki” Hadiprakarsa: Saving the last stronghold of the Helmeted Hornbill in Indonesia
- Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh: Advancing participatory action for chimpanzees in Nigeria
- Abdullahi Hussein Ali: A landscape-level approach to help the hirola antelope in Kenya
- Phuntsho Thinley: Stepping up patrols to protect the alpine musk deer in Bhutan
- Patricia Medici: Whitley Gold Award: Tapirs as conservation flagships in Brazil
”WFN is a very special organisation. It’s small. It’s very precisely focused…and so it is able to give its money where it really counts; where every penny counts.”
– Sir David Attenborough, Trustee
