Meet this year's top 15...
Following a global search, each year we recognise up to six grassroots conservationists with Whitley Awards – prestigious prizes providing funding, training and profile.
This year we received applications of an exceptionally high standard, representing a range of conservation approaches benefitting wildlife, landscapes and people across the Global South.
Following a comprehensive assessment the top 15 candidates have been identified, all doing incredible work with communities. They are:
1 Aylin Akkaya of DMAD – Marine Mammals Research Association in Turkey
Protecting the sperm whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales of Turkey
2 Emmanuel Amoah of the Threatened Species Conservation Alliance in Ghana
Safeguarding the last stronghold of West African slender-snouted crocodile
3 Yara Barros of Pró-Carnívoros in Brazil
Jaguars of Iguaçu Project: conservation of jaguars in the Atlantic Forest
4 Micaela Camino of Red Agroforestal Chaco Argentina in Argentina
Empowering local communities to conserve the Chacoan peccary and the Argentine Chaco
5 Vreni Haussermann of Universidad San Sebastian in Chile
With Sense and Sensibility: gaining a community for conservation in Chilean Patagonia
6 Pablo Hoffmann of Sociedade Chauá in Brazil
Rescuing and conserving threatened species in the Araucaria Forest region
7 David Kwarteng of the Institute of Nature and Environmental Conservation in Ghana
Scaling up pangolin conservation
8 Jonathan Kwiyega of the Landscape and Conservation Mentors Organisation in Tanzania
Halting illegal lion killings in western Tanzania
9 Sonam Lama of the Red Panda Network in Nepal
Strengthening community-based initiatives to save the last of the first panda
10 Andres Link of Proyecto Primates in Colombia
Protecting brown spider monkeys in a pervasively fragmented Biodiversity Hotspot
11 Estrela Matilde of Fundação Príncipe in Sao Tome and Principe
Enhanced marine conservation on Príncipe Island through participatory plastic reduction efforts
12 Badru Mugerwa of Embaka in Uganda
Pigs, Smiles and Sounds: local community tools against poaching
13 Joshua Rukundo of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance in Uganda
Conserving endangered chimpanzees in unprotected forests across western Uganda
14 Shailendra Singh of the Turtle Survival Alliance in India
Bringing black soft-shell turtle back from the brink in Assam
15 Dedy Yansyah of Forum Konservasi Leuser in Indonesia
Saving isolated Sumatran rhinos in the Eastern Leuser ecosystem
We are currently going back to the candidates with questions, taking up references, carrying out financial screening and conducting rigorous due diligence. Our expert Judging Panel will then select finalists to be invited for face-to-face interviews, with those successful going on to become the 2022 Whitley Award winners.
The winners of this year’s Whitley Awards will be announced live in London on Wednesday 27 April. Watch this space!
Congratulations to all the shortlisted candidates for making it to this stage.
