Sonam Tashi Lama, a Nepali grassroots conservationist working to protect the country’s endangered red panda is among 15 activists shortlisted for the prestigious Whitley Award 2022.
He has been recognised by the Whitley Fund for Nature for strengthening community-based initiatives to save the last of the red panda, which is also known as the ‘first panda’ to distinguish it from the Giant Panda in China.
Working as a Program Coordinator in Red Panda Network, Sonam Tashi Lama is a conservationist from Nepal who has been working for more than a decade in implementing community-based red panda conservation approaches in Nepal. His work has created a grassroot impact that has fostered red panda conservation stewardship in communities of eastern Nepal.
Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a UK fundraising and grant-giving charity founded by Edward Whitley OBE in 1993. The award winners are local environmental heroes working across countries to create lasting benefits for wildlife, landscapes and people. The flagship conservation awards worth £40,000 are honoured competitively following rigorous assessment by an expert panel.
Read more: Republic of Nepal’s animal kingdom, Sonam Tashi Lama and Janam Shrestha
An earlier recipient of the award from Nepal was Dr. Hem Baral in 2005 for his work to conserve endemic bird species through participatory conservation at Phulchoki forest near Kathmandu.
This year, the other 15 shortlisted conservationists for the award include Shailendra Singh, Andres Link, David Kwarteng, Pablo Hoffmann from across the world providing various environmental solutions among others.
The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a UK registered charity supporting grassroots conservation leaders in the Global South. Over 29 years it has channeled £19 million to more than 200 conservationists in 80 countries. It was one of the first charities to direct funding to locally-led projects.
Its rigorous, and renowned, application process identifies inspiring individuals who combine the latest science with community-based action, to benefit wildlife, landscapes, and people.
The Whitley Awards are presented by patron HRH The Princess Royal at an annual ceremony in London. Winners receive funding, training and profile including short films narrated by Trustee, Sir David Attenborough. Whitley Award winners also join an international alumni network eligible for Continuation Funding, allowing successful conservation solutions to be scaled up. A portion of WFN’s annual Continuation Funding is directed to nature-based solutions that jointly address the climate and biodiversity crises.
‘This year we received applications of an exceptionally high standard, representing a range of conservation approaches benefitting wildlife, landscapes and people across the Global South,’ Whitley said in a statement.
Shortlisted candidates and their projects are here:
Aylin Akkaya of DMAD – Marine Mammals Research Association in Turkey
Protecting the sperm whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales of Turkey
Emmanuel Amoah of the Threatened Species Conservation Alliance in Ghana
Safeguarding the last stronghold of West African slender-snouted crocodile
Yara Barros of Pró-CarnÃvoros in Brazil
Jaguars of Iguaçu Project: conservation of jaguars in the Atlantic Forest
Micaela Camino of Red Agroforestal Chaco Argentina in Argentina
Empowering local communities to conserve the Chacoan peccary and the Argentine Chaco
Vreni Haussermann of Universidad San Sebastian in Chile
With Sense and Sensibility: gaining a community for conservation in Chilean Patagonia
Pablo Hoffmann of Sociedade Chauá in Brazil
Rescuing and conserving threatened species in the Araucaria Forest region
David Kwarteng of the Institute of Nature and Environmental Conservation in Ghana
Scaling up pangolin conservation
Jonathan Kwiyega of the Landscape and Conservation Mentors Organisation in Tanzania
Halting illegal lion killings in western Tanzania
Sonam Lama of the Red Panda Network in Nepal
Strengthening community-based initiatives to save the last of the first panda
Andres Link of Proyecto Primates in Colombia
Protecting brown spider monkeys in a pervasively fragmented Biodiversity Hotspot
Estrela Matilde of Fundação PrÃncipe in Sao Tome and Principe
Enhanced marine conservation on PrÃncipe Island through participatory plastic reduction efforts
Badru Mugerwa of Embaka in Uganda
Pigs, Smiles and Sounds: local community tools against poaching
Joshua Rukundo of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance in Uganda
Conserving endangered chimpanzees in unprotected forests across western Uganda
Shailendra Singh of the Turtle Survival Alliance in India
Bringing black soft-shell turtle back from the brink in Assam
Dedy Yansyah of Forum Konservasi Leuser in Indonesia
Saving isolated Sumatran rhinos in the Eastern Leuser ecosystem
The winners of this year’s Whitley Awards will be announced live in London on Wednesday 27 April.
Read also: Red panda on the list, Sonam Tashi Lama
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