UK charity, the Whitley Fund for Nature, recognised Indonesia’s Rahayu Oktaviani with a 2025 Whitley Award for her work to protect the Endangered Javan gibbon on Java, one of the most densely populated islands on earth where less than 10 percent of forests remain.
Charity Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, presented the £50,000 Whitley Award on 30 April at the Royal Geographical Society. The event was livestreamed to YouTube.
As much as half of the species’ population is now concentrated in the 87,000 hectare Gunung Halimun Salak National Park (GHSNP), the largest remaining forest block on Java, where Rahayu, known as Ayu, works. The gibbons are vulnerable to forest fragmentation and habitat degradation as they rely on continuous canopy for movement and foraging.
With her Whitley Award funding, Ayu will focus on five villages within the park which overlap with critical gibbon habitat to mitigate threats from human activities and to reduce the risk of habitat disturbance and fragmentation. The co-founder and director of KIARA, a conservation NGO, Ayu will work with these local communities in conservation as well as training rangers in the park in biodiversity monitoring techniques to guide conservation strategies.
“Protecting the gibbons is about more than just conservation; it’s about ensuring their song continues to echo for future generations.”
More than 60 percent of Indonesia’s 281 million population lives in Java, where most of the original forest has been converted to agriculture, for urbanization, and infrastructure. Growing settlements around and within the park increase pressure on the park, which also encompasses 116 villages living within or near the boundary.
An endemic species found only in the forests of Java, the Javan Gibbon is now one of the most endangered primates in the world. Locally, it is known as “Uwek” and in folklore is believed to bring rain with its song. The primates communicate through vocalization with adult gibbons staying with their partners for more than 14 years.
Ayu’s community engagement includes the Ambu Halimun initiative, which involves 15 local women in ecoprint workshops and financial literacy training to manage household finances, which she says has empowered participants and created sustainable income streams.
“A healthy forest not only benefits wildlife but also provides clean water, fresh air, and climate regulation, which ultimately supports human life.”
Based in Citalahab, a small village enclave located in the centre of the sub-mountainous rainforest of Citalahab, Ayu employs eight community members as part of the field team from the region where local people make a living as laborers in tea plantations, growing rice or working in tourism.
With a decade of long-term monitoring of Javan gibbons in the Citalahab Forest within the park, Ayu has generated crucial insights into gibbon behaviour and habitat needs. Her team will strengthen the capacity of park authorities by developing a data management system to enhance park-wide conservation efforts. The park, which spans three districts, is home to Javan Hawk Eagles and Javan leopards, langurs and pangolins.
Education and outreach programmes will involve students and community members, foster awareness and pride in the Javan gibbon’s existence and its role in the ecosystem. The KIARA team will expand outreach to schools and local communities, engaging at least 300 students and 100 households.
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NOTES TO EDITORS – WHITLEY FUND FOR NATURE
The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a UK charity supporting grassroots conservation leaders in the Global South. Since its creation in 1993, it has channelled £24 million to 220 conservationists across 80 countries.
An early pioneer in the sector WFN was one of the first charities to channel funding directly to projects led by in-country nationals. Its rigorous application process identifies inspiring individuals who combine the latest science with community-based action.
WFN’s flagship prizes – Whitley Awards – are presented by charity Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, at a prestigious annual ceremony in London at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). Winners receive funding, training, and profile boost, including short films.
The 2025 Whitley Awards Ceremony is on Wednesday 30 April at the RGS and streamed live to YouTube from 7:30 BST. The 2025 Whitley Award winners are:
- Dr Yara Barros from Brazil who is protecting jaguars by teaching communities to co-exist with the apex predator in Iguaçu National Park in the Atlantic Forest.
- Reshu Bashyal from Nepal who is addressing widespread poaching of orchids and yews, driven by international demand for their medicinal and ornamental value.
- Dr Federico Kacoliris from Argentina who is expanding protection for the country’s most threatened amphibian, the El Rincón stream frog, and its river habitat in the volcanic Somuncura Plateau.
- Dr Andrés Link from Colombia who is protecting brown spider monkeys in the lowland rainforests of central Colombia and reconnecting the species’ fragmented habitat through a network of private protected areas.
- Dr Farina Othman from Malaysia who is saving the last 300 Bornean elephants in the east coast of Sabah State in Malaysia’s Borneo by working with large and small palm oil stakeholders.
- Every year, a past Whitley Award winner is chosen to receive the Whitley Gold Award, worth £100,000, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to conservation. Joining the Judging Panel, the Whitley Gold Award recipient also acts as a mentor to Whitley Award winners and an international ambassador for conservation success. The 2025 Whitley Gold Award winner is Rwanda’s Dr Olivier Nsengimana, recognised for his leadership in rebuilding the Grey Crowned Crane in Rwanda and for an ambitious plan to secure protection across East Africa for the iconic bird and its wetland habitat.
- www.whitleyaward.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn
FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS AND INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Carol Roussel, Head of Media Relations, Whitley Fund for Nature
T: 07379 019 804
Josephine Higgins, Head of Communications, Whitley Fund for Nature
