See the latest Whitley Award winners to receive follow-on conservation grants
Fifteen Whitley Award alumni were supported by Continuation Funding in late 2024. These follow-on grants of up to £100,000 over two years allow past Whitley Award winners to scale-up their conservation work, as well as address new challenges or urgent needs.
This recent funding round saw £1,310,000 given in Continuation Funding grants to support projects in 25 countries, including four transboundary projects, and covering an area of more than 274,000 km2 of land and sea.
This vital funding line will help experienced conservation leaders to secure further species protections at national and international levels, to scale up their work to reach new regions, and to increase ethical community engagement and support.
In many cases, these grants are key to the sustainability of successful projects and vital in stabilising fragile wildlife populations beyond the boundaries of initial project sites.
International collaboration: Conserving the Harpy Eagle across Latin America
Alexander Blanco (2017 Whitley Award winner)
The Harpy Eagle is an iconic predator of the Neotropical forest, with its range spanning Venezuela to Argentina. One of the largest raptors in the world, it is an important indicator of ecological health. Sadly, this keystone species faces grave threats from habitat loss, poaching and the impacts of climate change, but thanks to the steadfast efforts of Alexander Blanco and his team at Fundación Esfera, the future of this iconic bird is looking brighter.
In Venezuela’s Sierra Imataca, Alexander’s initiatives have led to a 33% increase in the Harpy Eagle population since 2017, with approximately 498 individuals now recorded. Through habitat restoration, the creation of ecological corridors, and the integration of community-led conservation strategies, Alexander and his team have successfully mitigated human-wildlife conflict and bolstered the species’ survival. They have also expanded protected areas and established Community Conservation Areas to safeguard critical habitats. These efforts not only benefit the Harpy Eagle but also support a vast array of biodiversity. Monitoring activities in these areas have revealed increased species richness and recovery in ecosystems previously under threat. Community engagement is central to the success of these conservation efforts – more than 25 rural communities have been mobilised to become “Guardians of Nature,” Alexander’s model of conservation, honed over 35 years of work in Venezuela and Panama, has become a template for Harpy Eagle conservation across its range.
Using Continuation Funding, the next phase of Alexander’s work will focus on expanding research on the Harpy Eagle’s behaviour and ecology by establishing active conservation and monitoring programmes across six countries, including Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia He will promoting climate-resilient conservation corridors to mitigate the effects of deforestation and climate change and encourage international cooperation for long-term conservation policies.
The Harpy Eagle’s resurgence is a testament to the power of integrated conservation — where science, community action, and policy converge. By safeguarding this apex predator, Alexander is not only protecting a single species; he is championing the health and vitality of entire ecosystems across Latin America.
National Action Plan for Seahorses in the Philippines
Amanda Vincent (1994 Whitley Award winner)
Since winning the first-ever Whitley Award more than 30 years ago, Amanda has spent the last three decades developing Project Seahorse into a truly international and interdisciplinary organisation committed to conservation and sustainable use of the world’s coastal marine ecosystems.
With support from WFN funding, she has used the species as a focus for creating wider marine conservation solutions in the central Philippines, establishing 35 no-take marine protected areas (MPAs) that are locally developed, managed and enforced, and has overcome fierce opposition to see seahorses listed under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix II list of regulated species – a precedent-setting move that paved the way for the regulation of other marine species, most notably exports of sharks and rays.
On invitation from the Philippine government’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Amanda and her team will now use Continuation Funding to expand their longstanding regional work to a national scale by implementing a National Action Plan to improve the conservation status of seahorses. With seven of the Philippines’s 10 seahorse species listed on the IUCN Red List as globally threatened and three as Data Deficient, she hopes to improve understanding of seahorses, using the IUCN National Red List Assessment Tool.
Seahorses are threatened by overexploitation, poor fishing practices, and habitat degradation. By conducting research and management at all levels, from community initiatives (such as establishing a self-sustaining network of seahorse advocates who monitor sentinel seahorse populations) to international accords, Amanda hopes to create self-sustaining initiatives with robust monitoring that strengthen marine protected areas (MPAs), enhance enforcement of fisheries regulations, and move toward sustainability in wildlife trade.
Back from the brink: A sanctuary for the Sumatran rhinos of Eastern Leuser
Dedy Yansyah (2022 Whitley Award winner)
Rhinos are one of the most poached animals on Earth, with dwindling population numbers across the globe; not least in Indonesia, where the country’s two rhino species – the Javan rhinoceros and the Sumatran rhinoceros – are critically endangered.
The Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh is one of the final strongholds for the Sumatran rhino, where approximately 40 individuals remain in isolated patches of forest. Unfortunately, fragmentation reduces breeding success, as the clustered groups are often closely related and therefore unable to reproduce. Intervention is necessary to secure a future for the Sumatran rhino.
Since winning a Whitley Award in 2022, Dedy Yansyah and his team at Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL) have successfully maintained a zero-poaching rate for Sumatran rhino populations across their Leuser habitat. By conducting research on the capture and translocation of rhino individuals, they have established strong scientific foundations for a captive breeding programme that would ensure the species’ continued survival.
With Continuation Funding, Dedy and his team will continue to protect rhino populations through SMART patrols, keeping poachers at bay. They will also gather data and monitor individuals to support future capture and translocation operations.
During this two-year project period through other secured funding, Dedy plans to oversee the first rhino rescue, bringing several isolated individuals to the breeding centre to begin boosting populations. Working with a network of experts and collaborators, he is also coordinating the construction of the Sumatran Rescue Sanctuary, which will support the eventual release of rhinos into the wild and hopefully bring this species back from the brink.
Transcending the divide: Uniting conservationists to protect freshwater ecosystems
Eugene Simonov (2013 Whitley Award winner)
Galvanising both governments and financial institutions, Eugene acts as international coordinator of Rivers without Boundaries; a coalition spanning Central Asia, aimed at tackling the extensive threats facing freshwater ecosystems.
Utilising an ecosystem-scale approach, Eugene has previously used WFN funding to highlight and eliminate potential impacts from water infrastructure projects which threaten World Heritage sites and biodiversity-rich rivers. He has improved policies and practices of international finance institutions – resulting in halting the Shuren Hydropower Project on the Selenge river – and developed assessment methods and river conservation support tools to aid decision making on river ecosystem conservation in key river basins, informing publications such as the Heritage Dammed Report and Guidance on Environmental and Social Impact assessment in World Heritage Context. By developing the financial advocacy toolkit, he has helped to train and empower local NGOs to assist civil society in tackling water infrastructure projects funded by international finance institutions which don’t take biodiversity into account.
Now, with this round of Continuation Funding, Eugene and his colleagues seek to strengthen local and global freshwater ecosystem conservation policies and practices, to protect key rivers and lakes from destruction by dams. Focussing their work across Central Asia, Lake Baikal Basin and Ukraine, they will draw upon the environmental policies of international financial institutions, World Heritage Convention tools, the Kunming-Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement climate change treaty to highlight that many of the hydropower development projects hailed by governments as crucial in helping them to meet their climate targets and transition to green energy do not take biodiversity into account – and how, without proper consultation, they risk exacerbating climate damage in the long term.
He hopes to secure the cancellation of financing for dangerous dams, such as rebuilding the Kakhovka Dam and Reservoir, and recruit international support for a conservation plan for the Lower Dnieper River and Ecosystem in Ukraine. Eugene will develop a river ecosystem restoration strategy for threatened priority rivers and lakes, which includes improved basin-scale planning, adjustment in dam design and operation, ecosystem restoration, and presents the case for financing alternatives to dams. His work will see the launch of a climate and biodiversity toolkit for a “Rivers and Climate” Campaign at Climate COP30 in Brazil in November 2025.
A sustainable future for leatherback turtles in Papua’s Bird’s Head Peninsula
Fitryanti Pakiding (2014 Whitley Award winner)
Bird’s Head Peninsula in Papua, Indonesia, is home to some of the last strongholds for Pacific leatherback turtles – one of the world’s largest and most threatened species of marine turtle. Around 75% of annual leatherback nesting activity takes place at Jeen Womom Coastal Park Marine Protected Area (MPA), where 2014 Whitley Award winner Fitryanti Pakiding and her team from LPPM UNIPA are working alongside local communities to protect this critical nesting site.
Fitry and her team’s efforts have helped safeguard between 1,000 and 1,400 leatherback nests annually, releasing tens of thousands of hatchlings back into the ocean. Partnering with local residents, the team uses innovative nest protection techniques in the face of climate change — such as relocating nests threatened by high sand temperatures or tidal surges — to improve hatchling survival rates. Additionally, they help provide basic education for over 100 local students annually, as well as creating sustainable income opportunities for local people, including the production of coconut oil and traditional Papuan crafts to reduce the need to resort to nest poaching to meet basic needs.
Using Continuation Funding, Fitry and her team will continue and expand their work to protect Papua’s leatherback turtles by conserving habitats and benefiting local communities through empowerment, outreach, and partnerships – addressing the dual threats of climate change and human impact on the region’s precious marine ecosystems.
Through expanding nest protection efforts, they aim to safeguard 600 – 800 leatherback nests per year from high sand temperatures and inundation, while establishing increased access to nesting sites via a new ferry route. Fitry also hopes to reduce incidences of nest poaching and marine debris by raising awareness of marine turtle conservation among passengers of the Sabuk Nusantara ferry, which now stops at remote villages. Against mounting threats, Fitry and her team are adapting their approach to secure a sustainable future for the species.
Securing a future for Indonesia’s Irrawaddy dolphin
Ir Budiono (2012 Whitley Award winner)
Flowing through Indonesia’s first freshwater National Aquatic Conservation Area, the Mahakam River is home to one of the world’s most endangered dolphin subspecies; the Irrawaddy dolphin. With a population of fewer than 50 adults, these dolphins are facing further threats from industrial expansion and habitat loss, as Indonesia’s new capital takes shape just 50km away.
Receiving his first Whitley Award in 2012, Budiono and the team at Yayasan Konservasi RASI have made critical strides in dolphin conservation, including reducing the number of dolphin deaths from fishing net entanglements by half, through the use of innovative “pinger” acoustic devices that deter dolphins from nets. In 2022, their work helped establish a 42,667-hectare freshwater protected area on the Mahakam watershed — the first of its kind in Indonesia — and secured commitments from 33 villages to protect a 186,000 hectare buffer zone around the Protected Area.
With Continuation Funding, Budiono’s project will expand protections in response to escalating development pressures. Key goals include securing stronger conservation status for 98,000 hectares of critical habitat and strengthening community-based fishing regulations to ensure dolphin-safe practices. RASI will continue collaborating with villages on anti-poaching patrols, sustainable fishing practices, and ongoing monitoring to preserve this unique river ecosystem.
This multi-faceted approach, combining technology, policy advocacy, and community partnership, aims to further reduce dolphin mortality and establish a lasting conservation framework to protect the Mahakam River’s biodiversity for generations to come.
Sustainable forests of Mongolia’s Khanghai Mountains: growing long-term solutions and financial sustainability
Jargal Jamsranjav (2004 Whitley Award winner)
Nestled in the Eastern Khangai mountain range, a vital forest landscape in Mongolia’s Orkhon Valley National Park is a treasure trove of biodiversity, sequestering vast carbon stores within its dense boreal forests, peatlands, and permafrost soils. This region is home to rare and endangered species like the musk deer, Swan goose, and Saker falcon, and supports a significant portion of Mongolia’s wildlife diversity. Yet, the forest ecosystem, a crucial carbon sink, is under increasing pressure from illegal logging, fires, insect outbreaks, and overgrazing.
Jargal Jamsranjav and her team at the Initiative for Conservation and Sustainable Development have already achieved significant impact in protecting this natural heritage by fostering a cooperative conservation approach, working closely with Forest Community Groups (FCGs) within and around Orkhon Valley National Park who implement a community-driven Forest Management Plan to reduce illegal logging, forest fires and pest outbreaks.
This new phase of funding will enable Jargal and her team to deepen their work in the Khangai mountains, enhancing both ecological and socio-economic resilience across a wider landscape. By expanding forest restoration and agroforestry initiatives, the project aims to protect 125,278 hectares of boreal forest – which stores an estimated 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year – while agroforestry enterprises will create sustainable livelihoods and combat land degradation, allowing local communities, especially women and girls, to benefit from new income streams.
A core objective of the project is establishing a sustainable financing mechanism to support community-driven conservation efforts well into the future. By implementing financial solutions for at least 10 FCGs and developing a “Bankable Nature Solution” project, Jargal aims to secure ongoing funding that will sustain the conservation gains beyond the project’s lifecycle.
In addition to its ecological importance, the Orkhon Valley holds deep cultural significance as a World Heritage Site. By empowering local communities to take stewardship of this landscape, Jargal and her team’s work fosters a deep-rooted, sustainable approach to conservation that respects traditional knowledge while addressing modern environmental challenges.
Taking the Leap: Scaling Amphibian Conservation in Africa
Jeanne Tarrant (2020 Whitley Award winner)
Despite the essential role that amphibians play in ecosystems and the vital services their habitats provide, amphibian conservation remains severely underlooked, under-resourced, and under capacitated. In southern Africa, one in five amphibians are threatened, primarily due to habitat loss and transformation, and the growing impacts of climate change.
As regional chair of the Amphibian Specialist Group, Jeanne has elevated the status of frog conservation in South Africa. Her work has initiated formal habitat protection and improved habitat management across regions where six threatened species are found. By expanding amphibian conservation work in the country from two provinces to four, Jeanne has increased frog numbers, boosted employment and raised much-needed awareness, engaging landowners and hundreds of community members in conservation practices.
Since winning her Whitley Award, she has discovered more than 10 previously unknown subpopulations of three threatened frog species and established a new non-profit conservation organisation, Anura Africa, to support landscape-level amphibian conservation priorities across Africa.
Using Continuation Funding, Anura Africa aims to address gaps in amphibian conservation by targeting urgent species recovery priorities identified in the Red List assessment for southern Africa, and in alignment with the latest global strategies. Jeanne aims to build greater understanding of regional amphibian conservation needs through promoting citizen science to generate critical data, as well as strengthening the African network of early-career conservation biologists by providing training and mentorship opportunities for future leaders.
Expanding conservation action for the Yellow-shouldered Parrot
Jon Paul Rodriguez (2019 Whitley Gold Award winner)
The Yellow-shouldered Parrot (YSP) is a highly sought-after exotic pet, with poaching and habitat loss causing the species to go extinct across much of its range. Currently, Venezuela and the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Bonaire are the only areas where these birds remain, and efforts to protect them have historically been isolated or uncoordinated.
Jon Paul Rodriguez has helped to consolidate efforts with his 2019 Whitley Gold Award, creating the first comprehensive action plan across the species’ entire range, and international conservation network for the YSP. Since the action plan’s initial implementation, Jon Paul and his team at Provita have successfully supported parrot breeding efforts, with more than 200 birds fledging annually over the past four years. Thanks to nest monitoring and a large-scale behaviour change campaign, demand for parrots and subsequent poaching efforts have been reduced.
Jon Paul will now use further Continuation Funding to expand his efforts to other areas of Venezuela where parrot populations remain at risk. Further research on population size, key breeding sites, and threats will help determine conservation interventions in these new areas. He will also continue changing perceptions around poaching and the pet trade, reaching more communities and adding more active members to the behaviour change campaign. Finally, Jon Paul and his team will continue habitat restoration work, planting 3,600 native trees across 3 hectares. Against a backdrop of challenging economic and sociopolitical realities, Jon Paul is steadfast in his work to secure a future for this threatened species.
Community conservation of iconic Andean landscapes
Luis Rivera (2014 Whitley Award winner)
The Andes mountains are considered a hotspot of biodiversity, with unique habitats at various elevations harbouring many endemic and threatened species. These include the Southern Yungas – Andean mountain forests that are home to unique species – and cloud grasslands, where the region’s water sources originate. Threatened by deforestation, degradation, connectivity loss and climate change, these forests and grasslands are being protected by Whitley Award winner Luis Rivera, in collaboration with local communities.
With his 2014 Whitley Award funding and multiple rounds of Continuation Funding, Luis and his NGO CEBio Foundation have helped to protect 13,400 hectares of critical cloud forest in Bolivia and 44,000 hectares of private and government-owned forest in Argentina, establishing protected areas that safeguard species such as the Alder Parrot and Military Macaw. In addition to legal protection, he has also helped to restore forest areas, engaging local people in the maintenance of tree nurseries, planting activities, and farming native fruit groves.
Now, Luis is building on this community engagement work by supporting alternative livelihood programmes. He will use Continuation Funding to work with groups of local women and indigenous artisans, connecting them to markets and promoting their nature-positive products and handicrafts.
Conservation work will also expand to a new area of Southern Yungas, a recently established UNESCO site known as the Yungas Biosphere Reserve. Here, Luis will work with the area’s local and indigenous communities, building their engagement in monitoring activities, and training them to identify and gather data on threatened species, such as the iconic Andean deer. Additionally, he will build on ecotourism activities that support the traditional and ancestral customs in the area, working with local people interested in becoming ecotourism guides to expand on new income streams that value the protection of this habitat.
Seeding the future: Upscaling actions to rescue and conserve Brazil’s Araucaria Forest ecosystem
Pablo Hoffman (2022 Whitley Award winner)
The southern Brazilian Araucaria Forest and its grasslands are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world, with less than 1% remaining. Home to hundreds of rare and threatened plants – many of which are endemic to the region and embedded in the history of local and regional communities’ food, crafts and culture – the Araucaria Forest requires urgent and extensive restoration.
2022 Whitley Award winner Pablo Hoffman and his team at Sociedade Chauá remain deeply committed to restoring and conserving this degraded and endangered ecosystem. They are working with farmers and landowners on habitat restoration activities that are rebuilding a diverse forest from the ground up, planting and nurturing genetically diverse tree species essential for supporting wildlife and sequestering carbon.
Recent catastrophic flooding in Rio Grande do Sul state has intensified the region’s demand for urgent and extensive restoration, however – the flooding itself a result of long-term neglect of environmental degradation and climate change consequences. Despite the urgency, restoration strategies and seedling availability are scarce, with a lack of genetic and species diversity. Pablo and his team have been addressing these challenges by mapping species, collecting seeds, producing, distributing, and planting seedlings, as well as developing and disseminating research, and increasing community engagement on the topic. With new funding, they plan to expand their efforts within the three southern states.
Working with 27 institutional partners, including NGOs, private and public sector, they will deliver programmes centred on awareness raising, training, and knowledge sharing, promoting community engagement in mother tree mapping and seedling production to aid the restoration and monitoring of 250 hectares in protected areas. Pablo hopes to build a long-term strategic partnership with the Rio Grande do Sul state environmental agency to promote knowledge exchange through courses and workshops for the agency’s staff, as well as influence local nurseries to use native species to increase species diversity and seedling production.
A holistic approach to dolphin conservation in southern Brazil
Pedro Fruet (2021 Whitley Award winner)
The endangered Lahille’s bottlenose dolphin has an estimated population of fewer than 600 individuals, facing significant threats from bycatch (the unintended capture of non-target fish and ocean life in commercial fishing gear) and pollution. In southern Brazil, the Patos Lagoon Estuary (PLE) and adjacent coastal waters are crucial areas for dolphin conservation, with around 4,000 traditional fishers depending on these waters for their livelihoods. Despite bans on harmful fishing practices, bycatch rates remain high here, threatening the small local dolphin population that remains.
With his 2021 Whitley Award, Pedro and his team at Kaosa successfully engaged community stakeholders, leading to a slight but important increase in dolphin survival rates around the PLE. Their project placed local fishers at the heart of the conservation process, recognising their invaluable knowledge of the marine ecosystem and working with them as essential allies in developing fishing practices to minimize incidental capture.
Building on past success, and aligning his approach with the recently formulated Conservation Management Plan for Lahille’s dolphins, Pedro and his team will use Continuation Funding to continue their collaboration with local communities, shifting attitudes around dolphin conservation and enhancing fisher engagement in the protection of this iconic species. By integrating science, art and traditional knowledge into training and awareness raising programmes across stakeholder groups, Pedro hopes to make conservation activities accessible and achievable, reaching at least 2,000 community members over the course of the project.
Additionally, he will conduct a comprehensive risk assessment for Lahille’s dolphins, as well as a Health Assessment Programme to better understand population viability and inform further timely conservation targets. Through community-inclusive action, Pedro hopes to reduce annual non-natural mortality of Lahille’s dolphins in the PLE by 40% over three years.
Creating the world’s first shark superhighway
Rachel Graham (2011 Whitley Gold Award winner)
Shark conservation is one of the most urgent marine issues globally. In Belize, positive signs of shark populations rebounding at specific sites, coupled with recorded transboundary movements, provide hope for population restoration throughout the MesoAmerican Reef, where Whitley Gold Award winner Rachel Graham focuses her conservation efforts. Despite this, targeted shark fishing in Mexico’s state of Quintana Roo continues to threaten species population recovery and ecosystem balance in this the world’s second-longest reef system, spanning Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Building upon past success achieved with WFN support, including engaging traditional fishers, local students and partners to conduct the first regional assessment of sharks and rays in the MesoAmerican Reef region, and together with colleagues, securing a country-wide fishing net ban in Belize, Rachel and her team at MarAlliance have continued to achieve significant scientific advancements. In 2018, while monitoring shark populations, they discovered a species of shark previously unknown in Belize; the Atlantic sixgill shark (Hexanchus vitulus), and in 2022, Rachel and her team used species science such as this to support the successful expansion of CITES protection for requiem sharks – the largest shark and ray protection measure in CITES history, offering protection to more than 60 species of shark and bringing shark fin trade under stricter regulation.
Now, with further WFN funding, Rachel hopes to demonstrate shark population recovery and further harmonise laws across the Mexican Caribbean, in a region that was recently declared a protected area by the Mexican Government. Spanning the entire coast of Quintana Roo and linking Belize’s network of 14 marine protected areas, this new protected area provides the opportunity to create the world’s first shark superhighway, linking critical habitats and allowing for expansive outreach to secure a future for sharks and those who depend on them in the region.
By engaging local fishers and coastal communities in conservation, Rachel hopes to decrease fishing pressure in the region by shifting leading artisanal fishers away from using longlines and nets and towards monitoring and shark encounter tourism as livelihood supplements or alternatives. She will also engage the next generation of megafauna conservation scientists in monitoring and tracking training, giving them the skills to steward the superhighway into the future. The success of this inclusive approach and the promotion of respectful and well-regulated shark encounter tourism will help form a roadmap for replication in other countries wishing to protect migratory corridors for threatened marine species.
Protecting Colombia’s cotton-top tamarins through forest restoration
Rosamira Guillén (2015 Whitley Award winner)
Cotton-top tamarins are found only in Colombia’s northern tropical forests. These tiny primates face a high risk of extinction due to habitat loss and capture for the illegal pet trade, and are now Critically Endangered. Rosamira Guillén and her Fundación Proyecto Tití team are dedicated to reversing this trend, working to preserve critical forest habitat by empowering local communities to protect the tamarins and their ecosystems.
With WFN support, Proyecto Tití has grown its Los Titíes de San Juan forest reserve – one of three conservation impact areas they’ve established – from 70 to 900 hectares, with an additional 1,000 hectares of forest corridors restored through collaboration with nearly 200 local families on conservation agreements. These agreements see local farmers and their families receive tangible benefits and incentives that improve their livelihoods while setting aside a portion of their land for forest restoration. Additionally, education programmes focused on discouraging the hunting, selling or keeping of tamarins as pets have reached over 17,000 young Colombians across 40 communities, showing a significant change in attitudes towards the pet trade.
Recently, Proyecto Tití has extended its impact to a new conservation area in Colosó, a critical region of 6,600 hectares, which faces threats from unsustainable farming and logging. Working closely with 30 local families around the Coraza reserve, Rosamira’s team will implement conservation agreements that provide communities with benefits like sustainable farming training and solar energy access, in exchange for forest restoration support. This effort will establish and restore 45 hectares of new forest buffers and corridors by 2026, strengthening habitats for cotton-top tamarins and numerous other native species.In addition, Proyecto Tití will run education programmes in the area to increase attitudes of rejection towards the illegal pet trade of cotton-top tamarins.
Rosamira’s integrated approach to conservation — combining forest restoration, community education, and sustainable livelihoods — offers a scalable model for protecting biodiversity while improving local livelihoods. The project represents a powerful continuation of Proyecto Tití’s mission, including a return to areas they were forced to leave in the 1990s due to socio-political conflict – a marker of the impact and resilience of their conservation efforts.
A Pathway to Recovery: Alternatives to Firewood to Conserve Tiger and Elephant Habitats
Sanjay Gubbi (2017 Whitley Award winner)
India is home to the world’s largest population of wild tigers and Asian elephants, with Karnataka’s Malai Mahadeshwara (MM) Hills-Cauvery landscape playing a vital role in their long-term survival. However, habitat loss, degradation, and poaching remain significant threats, with firewood collection emerging as a key driver of habitat degradation. The firewood harvested by communities are also key fodder species for elephants and tiger prey such as sambar, axis deer and other wildlife species. Thanks to the continued efforts of Sanjay Gubbi and his team at Holématthi Nature Foundation (HNF), a sustainable solution is helping both people and wildlife thrive.
Since receiving his Whitley Award in 2017, Sanjay has led groundbreaking interventions to reduce firewood dependence by distributing LPG cookstoves to nearly 2,500 households—far exceeding initial targets. This initiative has decreased firewood usage by approximately 65%, reducing habitat destruction and lowering carbon emissions by 110 tonnes annually. In addition, women who previously spent 800 hours a year collecting firewood have been able to reclaim their time for education, income generation, and family well-being, while experiencing significant health improvements due to reduced smoke exposure.
With Continuation Funding, Sanjay is now expanding his work to address the lack of sustainable heating alternatives for bathing and daily needs,. His team will provide fuel-efficient water heaters to 450 households across the MM Hills-Cauvery landscape, further reducing firewood dependency by an additional 30-40%. This will ensure that the firewood dependency of families on the MM Hills-Cauvery landscape will be almost halted.
Sanjay’s conservation strategy extends beyond direct interventions. By working closely with local communities and the government, he is enhancing habitat protection and bolstering conservation efforts. His team will conduct ecological monitoring to assess tiger, prey, and elephant populations, ensuring that conservation actions lead to measurable improvements. The Holématthi Nature Information Centre, a unique nature education school that focuses on students and local communities has been successfully running since the last six years.
This integrated approach is already showing remarkable results. Crop losses of beneficiary families due to human-wildlife conflict have reduced by 80%, while alternative livelihood projects have empowered local families to become self-sustaining. Through these efforts, community attitudes towards conservation continue to shift positively, leading to increased protection for some of India’s most iconic wildlife.
