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Fernando Trujillo film wins Award

Following its huge success at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, ‘A River Below’, featuring 2007 Whitley Gold Award winner, Fernando Trujillo, has now been awarded the Environmental Award at the Sheffield Doc Fest.

Dr Fernando Trujillo leads a team of conservationists working to protect freshwater species and their ecosystems in the Amazon basin, using river dolphins as flagship species.

‘A River Below’, directed by Mark Grieco, focuses on Fernando’s work with the Pink River Dolphin, the largest freshwater dolphin in the world, which is increasingly under threat from the fishing industry, pollution and habitat loss. Fernando’s research has highlighted the menace of mercury poisoning from illegal gold mining, which affects wildlife and people alike and he is working with national authorities to find ways to address this threat.

He has also drawn attention to the killing of dolphins to provide fishing bait and to plans for hydropower dam developments that threaten river connectivity. He is spearheading collaboration between four of the Amazonian countries to safeguard these precious freshwater habitats for both people and wildlife.

Find out more about the film here

Read more about Fernando’s Whitley Award project here