Meet this year's recipients of world-leading prizes for grassroots wildlife conservation...
The 2022 Whitley Awards, on Wednesday 27 April at the Royal Geographical Society in London, celebrated six grassroots conservationists identified after a worldwide search for locally-led solutions to the global biodiversity and climate crises.
We also recognised this year’s Whitley Gold Award winner: Dr. Charudutt Mishra.
An uplifting event and WFN’s first in-person ceremony in three years, the evening was hosted by WFN Ambassadors Tom Heap and Kate Humble and the Whitley Awards were presented by WFN Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, in front of nearly 500 guests. The event was also live-streamed to over 1,000 people and counting around the world, which you can watch on catch-up here.
Please join us in congratulating our 2022 Whitley Award winners: inspirational individuals bringing people together to benefit wildlife, habitats and society.
The winners of the 2022 Whitley Awards are:
Charu Mishra | WHITLEY GOLD AWARD
Mountains of High Asia | Building global capacity for community-led conservation | Winner of the Whitley Gold Award donated by the Friends of Whitley Fund for Nature
MICAELA CAMINO
Argentina | Empowering communities to defend their human rights and conserve Argentina’s Dry Chaco | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by Goldman Sachs Morris Family Foundation
SONAM LAMA
Nepal | People and red pandas: Mutually beneficial conservation in the Himalayas | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by Anne Reece
Dedy Yansyah
Indonesia | Last stand for the Sumatran rhino: Looking out for Leuser’s ecosystem engineers | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by Arcus Foundation
Estrela Matilde
São Tomé and Príncipe | Stemming the tide of plastic pollution: An island-wide effort to save sea turtles | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by the Corcoran Foundation
Emmanuel Amoah
Ghana | Tales from the riverbank: Safeguarding the last stronghold of the West African slender-snouted crocodile | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by MAVA Foundation
PABLO HoFFMANN
Brazil | Rooting for the future: Nurturing wild plant diversity in the Araucaria Forest region | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by The Frank Brake Charitable Trust
The charity’s flagship prizes, Whitley Awards are won competitively following a worldwide search. Applications are assessed by an expert Judging Panel, and winners receive £40,000 in project funding over one year. In addition, the Awards provide elevated profile, new connections and training – all tools that winners can use to better protect the natural world. Winners also join our 200-strong community of Whitley Award alumni – a global network of peers with whom they can share expertise, resources and encouragement.
- Watch a collection of short films about this year’s Whitley Award-winning projects, narrated by Sir David Attenborough
- Leaf through our 2022 Whitley Awards booklet, with stunning imagery and key information about the charity and this year’s winners
- Catch up on the evening via social media @WhitleyAwards or using the hashtag #OurLocalPlanet
We are so grateful to our Whitley Award donors, and to all of WFN’s supporters. This work would not be possible without you.
Special thanks goes out to Lord Robin Russell, Lord James Russell, and the Britta and Jeremy Lloyd Charitable Trust for their generous match funding, and to all of those who have already doubled their donation through Our Local Planet Match Fund.
Congratulations again to all of the 2022 Whitley Award winners!
