The 2022 CLP Team Awards, worth a total of $456,077, have been granted to 23 exceptional teams of 98 conservationists who are carrying out priority projects to protect imperilled species across the world.
The award-winning projects will focus on saving some of the world’s most threatened fauna and flora across 17 different countries in three global regions: Latin America & the Caribbean, Asia & the Pacific, and Africa.
This includes four projects focused on protecting endemic plants in Nepal, Egypt, Mexico and Brazil. Other target species are horseshoe crabs and coral reefs in the Philippines and Honduras; guitarfish and angel sharks in Indonesia, Peru and Ghana; and geckos and gharials in Nigeria and India.
Additional CLP-funded projects this year will focus on conserving various amphibians in Ghana, Cameroon and Colombia; mammals in Kenya, Colombia and Argentina; and birds in Nepal, Nigeria, Guyana, and Peru.
The award-winning teams were selected for one of three award tiers: entry-level Future Conservationist Awards (worth $15,000); Follow-Up Awards (worth $25,000); or Leadership Awards (worth $50,000), with the latter two awards given only to past recipients to allow them to scale up their previous projects. This year, CLP is supporting two Leadership Awards, five Follow-Up Awards and 16 Future Conservationist Awards.
Award-winning teams will benefit from a project grant, as well as opportunities to build connections with peers and access expert mentorship through the CLP Alumni Network (comprising approximately 3,000 past recipients around the world) and the three CLP partnership organisations. Individuals from winning teams are also invited to participate in international, regional and online training courses to develop their conservation knowledge and skills.
More details about some of this year’s award-winning projects are found below and on the CLP website.
Engaging indigenous communities to protect red siskins in Guyana -- A team working at the NGO South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS) in Guyana has been selected for a Leadership Award to help secure the future of an Endangered bird – the red siskin. Working with six indigenous communities, the team will create a new conservation management zone, and discourage trapping of red siskins and destruction of their habitat by training local rangers.
The team was delighted to hear the news of their award, with leader Leroy Ignacio commenting: “This award represents the final step of support from CLP that has spanned almost 20 years and has helped SRCS to provide much-needed protection for one of Guyana’s most threatened birds.”
Saving the last giant squeaker frogs in Ghana -- One Follow-Up Award has been granted to a team in Ghana, working with the NGO Save Ghana Frogs, to help scale up their efforts to save the Critically Endangered giant squeaker frog. The award will allow the team to undertake vital conservation actions, including establishing a Key Biodiversity Area; improving habitat conditions for the species; and leading conservation awareness programmes to garner support among local communities.
Conserving the tri-spine horseshoe crab in Palawan, the Philippines -- One Future Conservationist Award goes to a team of emerging conservationists dedicated to conserving the Endangered tri-spine horseshoe crab and its habitats in Palawan, the Philippines. Here, the progressive loss of suitable habitats for this living fossil is a major barrier to its future survival. The team will gather crucial information about the species and conduct interviews with local fishers to identify the main threats it faces, which will ultimately feed into a conservation plan.
Supporting these projects has been made possible thanks to support from Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin (arcadiafund.org.uk) – and the March Conservation Fund.
###
BirdLife International is a global family of over 115 national Partners covering all continents, landscapes and seascapes. BirdLife is driven by its belief that local people, working for nature in their own places but connected nationally and internationally through the global Partnership, are the key to sustaining all life on this planet. This unique local-to-global approach delivers high impact and long-term conservation for the benefit of nature and people. Visit: birdlife.org
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is the world’s longest established international wildlife conservation organisation. Founded in 1903, FFI acts to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide. Renowned for an approach underpinned by robust science, FFI has pioneered collaborative, partnership-based, community-led conservation that tackles problems holistically, providing sustainable solutions that simultaneously benefit wildlife, support local livelihoods and safeguard the natural landscapes and seascapes on which we all ultimately depend. Visit: fauna-flora.org
The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a partnership between BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International and WCS. For 35 years, CLP has been committed to supporting early-career conservationists across the world undertaking important research, practical actions and community outreach to conserve globally threatened species. Visit: www.conservationleadershipprogramme.org Follow: @CLPawards. For more information, contact: kate.tointon@fauna-flora.org +44 (0) 7769 691862
Arcadia is a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin that supports work to preserve endangered cultural heritage, protect endangered ecosystems, and promote access to knowledge. Since 2002, Arcadia has awarded more than $919 million to projects around the world.
Join more than one million wildlife lovers working to save the Earth's most treasured and threatened species.
Thanks for signing up