Two of Rainforest Trust’s local partners were recognized for their continued commitment to safeguarding biodiversity through community engagement.

This May, the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) presented Whitley Awards to two members of Rainforest Trust partner organizations. According to the WFN website, “The Whitley Awards champion effective local conservationists from bio-diversity rich, resource-poor countries, who are spearheading innovative work to save endangered wildlife and benefit local communities.”

Ian Little of Rainforest Trust’s partner Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) was recognized by WFN for his efforts to conserve South Africa’s grassland habitat against the threat of unregulated agricultural encroachment. Little is working with landowners to help them understand how to sustainably manage their grasslands, and aims to establish a corridor of protected areas.

With an emphasis on community engagement, EWT is also partnering with Rainforest Trust to utilize Biodiversity Stewardship Programs in other parts of South Africa. Currently, the conservation organizations are working on two projects that encourage landowners to become active custodians of important amphibian habitats on their own properties, specifically for the Critically Endangered Amathole Toad and Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog.

Another Whitley Award recipient was Indira Lacerna-Widmann, the co-founder of the Philippine conservation organization Katala Foundation. Lacerna-Widmann and her team have worked to protect the Critically Endangered Philippine Cockatoo, which has faced drastic population declines due to the caged bird trade and destruction of its habitat. The reserves that the Katala Foundation supports have helped the Philippine Cockatoo rebound, and Lacerna-Widmann is now working to protect an urban population of cockatoos in Central Palawan that forage over military and private lands.

Rainforest Trust is currently partnering with the Katala Foundation to protect habitat for another species that is also negatively impacted by the wildlife trade and habitat loss: the Critically Endangered Palawan Turtle. This turtle is among the 25 most threatened turtle species in the world, and together the Katala Foundation and Rainforest Trust will secure a key section of its range.

“It is always wonderful to see our partners recognized by such an important international platform,” said James Lewis, Rainforest Trust’s Director of Conservation Programs.

“Like so many of Rainforest Trust’s partners, Ian and Indira are true leaders in conservation, working closely with communities, landowners and governments to ensure that generations to come will be able to share in the amazing biodiversity we all want to see protected.”

Header photo: The 2017 Whitley Award winners. Photo courtesy of the Whitley Fund for Nature.