Introducing this year's outstanding top 12
Each year, we honour up to six grassroots conservationists with Whitley Awards—our flagship prize which offers funding, training, and a boost in media profile. The recipients are leading impactful projects that benefit wildlife, landscapes, and communities, combining cutting-edge science with strong leadership and a community-based approach.
Following a global search, this year we received 119 Whitley Award applications from conservationists across the Global South. After various rounds of rigorous assessment, we are thrilled to announce our top 12 candidates:
1. Letoluai Komiki Ambrose of Loisaba Community Trust in Kenya
Empowering communities and conserving black leopards: sustainable solutions for coexistence.
2. Yara Barros of Pró-Carnívoros in Brazil
Project jaguars of Iguaçu: conservation of jaguars in the Atlantic forest.
3. Reshu Bashyal of Greenhood in Nepal
Safeguarding medicinal plants and their last remaining wild habitat in Makwanpur.
4. Federico Kacoliris of Fundación Somuncura in Argentina
A community-integrated approach to conserve biodiversity in the Somuncura Plateau, Patagonia
5. Andrés Link of Fundación Proyecto Primates in Colombia
Reconnecting brown spider monkeys and wildlife in the lowland rainforests of Colombia
6. Moreangels Mbizah of Wildlife Conservation Action in Zimbabwe
Protecting lions and improving community livelihoods through promoting human-wildlife coexistence
7. Rahima Njaidi of Mtandao wa Jamii wa Usimamizi wa Misitu in United Republic of Tanzania
Strengthening the management and restoration of the Nyerere-Selous to Udzungwa wildlife corridor
8. Ayu Oktaviani of KIARA in Indonesia
Collaborative conservation to protect Javan gibbons and ecosystems
9. Risper Oteke of She-Nature CBO in Kenya
Community stewardship in ocean governance for marine resources sustainability in Tudor Creek
10. Farina Othman of Seratu Aatai in Malaysia
Implementation of a landscape approach to Bornean elephant conservation in Lower Kinabatangan
11. Muhammad Ghozaly Salim of Yayasan Konservasi dan Penelitian Pari Mobula in Indonesia
Sustaining Mobula rays: enhancing seafood networks for conservation
12. Jeremy Shelton of Freshwater Research Centre in South Africa
Fynbos fish revival: ramping up river restoration in an African biodiversity hotspot
We conduct thorough due diligence on the shortlisted individuals, and then our expert Judging Panel selects the finalists, who are invited for face-to-face interviews. Those who succeed will become the 2025 Whitley Award winners.
This year’s Whitley Award winners will be revealed live in London on Wednesday, 30 April—stay tuned for details on how to watch the livestream!
A huge congratulations to all shortlisted candidates on reaching this stage, and a big thank you to our expert Scoring Stage Assessors and Judging Panel members.
