Announcing this year’s recipients of world-leading prizes for grassroots wildlife conservation…
On Wednesday 30 April at the Royal Geographical Society in London, the 2025 Whitley Awards ceremony celebrated six conservation leaders for their locally-led solutions to the global biodiversity and climate crises.
We also recognised this year’s Whitley Gold Award winner Olivier Nsengimana and his team at the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA).
The inspiring evening was hosted by WFN Ambassadors Tom Heap and Kate Humble. The Whitley Awards were presented by WFN Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, in front of nearly 400 guests and the event was live streamed to over 1,600 people and counting around the world, which you can watch here.
Congratulations to each of the 2025 Whitley Award winners: exceptional changemakers working with communities to protect our natural world.
The winners of the 2025 Whitley Awards are:
OLIVIER NSENGIMANA | WHITLEY GOLD AWARD
Rwanda | Leading protection for grey crowned cranes across East Africa | Winner of the Whitley Gold Award donated by the Friends of the Whitley Fund for Nature
Dr Olivier Nsengimana, a veterinarian and former Gorilla Doctor from Rwanda, won a Whitley Award in 2018 for a successful campaign to conserve his country’s emblematic Grey Crowned Crane. Facing threats from the illegal pet trade and habitat destruction, the endangered Grey Crowned Cranes were heading towards extinction in Rwanda.
Olivier and his team at the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA) transformed this situation, resulting in the wild crane population in the country quadrupling since their founding in 2015. RWCA successfully halted the illegal trade of Grey Crowned Cranes, and pioneered an impactful approach of engaging community members as Conservation Champions and co-creating nature-based solutions to mitigate habitat destruction.
However, without a strong transboundary collaboration, cranes may be well protected within Rwanda, but face increasing threats in neighbouring countries. Building on cross-border collaborations started with support of 2021 WFN Continuation Funding, Olivier has set an ambitious plan to secure protection across East Africa for the iconic bird and its wetland habitat via transboundary cooperation and community collaboration.
FARINA OTHMAN
Malaysia | Connecting landscapes for Bornean elephants in Sabah | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by Corcoran Foundation
The Lower Kinabatangan in Sabah is home to one of the world’s last populations of Bornean elephants, but habitat fragmentation and human-elephant conflict threaten their survival. With oil palm plantations covering much of the landscape, Farina and NGO Seratu Aatai are tackling the urgent need for coexistence strategies that integrate conservation with sustainable land use.
ANDRÉS LINK
Colombia | Canopy corridors: Reconnecting brown spider monkeys in Colombia | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by William Brake Foundation
In Colombia’s Magdalena River Valley, accelerated rates of habitat loss and degradation threaten the Critically Endangered brown spider monkey, as their rainforests are cleared for cattle ranching and agro-industrial fields. With decades of experience conserving this umbrella species, Andrés and his NGO Fundación Proyecto Primates team encourage sustainable development while fostering protection of the area’s unique biodiversity and the well-being of local communities.
RESHU BASHYAL
Nepal | Healing forests: Safeguarding medicinal plants in Nepal | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by Anne Reece
While Nepal is lauded for conservation of megafauna like tigers and rhinos, plant conservation has received far less attention. Many native plants are traditionally harvested for their medicinal, ornamental and nutritional values yet currently the scale of harvest threatens the survival of many species. Working within Makawanpur district, Reshu and NGO Greenhood Nepal will focus on Maire’s yew and orchids to conserve intact habitats and formalise a sustainable harvest and trade, which will directly benefit the local guardians of these forests.
YARA BARROS
Brazil | Big cat coexistence: Conserving jaguars in Iguaçu National Park | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by Inigo Insurance
With fewer than 300 individuals remaining across Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, the jaguar population in this biome is considered Critically Endangered. In the Iguaçu region, increased forest fragmentation and retaliatory killing due to livestock predation almost extinguished the species locally. Yara and Institute Pró Carnivores are fostering coexistence between people and these big cats to conserve the park’s rich biodiversity.
FEDERICO KACOLIRIS
Argentina | The guardians of Somuncura Plateau’s biodiversity | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by The Frank Brake Charitable Trust
The Valcheta Stream runs through Somuncura Plateau in Patagonia, a Key Biodiversity Area. In recent years, this precious freshwater resource was severely impacted by unsustainable livestock management and the introduction of invasive trout. By working to protect the endemic and Critically Endangered El Rincon stream frog and the naked characin fish, Federico and NGO Fundación Somuncura are helping to conserve the biodiversity of the entire plateau with a community-integrated approach.
RAHAYU OKTAVIANI
Indonesia | Calling for community: Saving the song of the Javan gibbon | Winner of the Whitley Award donated by Hempel Foundation.
Java, Indonesia’s most populated island, has lost much of its forests to agriculture, urbanisation, and infrastructure. Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, the largest remaining forest block on Java, is home to 25–50% of the Endangered Javan gibbon population. However, human activities within and around the park threaten its habitat, placing Javan gibbons at risk of isolation and local extinction. With the Whitley Award, Rahayu (Ayu) and her team will focus on five critical areas within the park where villages overlap with key gibbon habitat.
The charity’s flagship prizes, Whitley Awards are won following a global search and rigorous application process, assessed by an expert Judging Panel. Winners receive £50,000 in project funding over one year, in addition to elevated profile, new connections and training.
Winners also join our community of over 220 Whitley Award alumni – a network of peers across the Global South with whom they can share expertise, resources and support.
- Watch the Whitley Award winners in action through a collection of short films, narrated by WFN Ambassadors Tom Heap and Kate Humble
- Read our 2025 Whitley Awards booklet, for more detail on WFN’s impact and the award winning projects
- Catch up on the evening via social media @WhitleyAwards or using the hashtag #WhitleyAwards
We are incredibly grateful to our Whitley Award donors, and to all of WFN’s supporters. This work would not be possible without you.
Congratulations once again to all of the 2025 Whitley Award winners!
