Conservation Leadership Programme announces 2012 awards

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) supports exceptionally talented, early-career conservationists who are striving to safeguard threatened species and habitats worldwide. In April the CLP announced the winners of its annual awards and granted c. USD 490,500 to 28 projects in 22 countries. Of these, 24 are new projects, two are Follow-up projects and two are Conservation Leadership Awards that provide substantial resources to first-rate innovative and original projects previously supported by the Programme. This year the newly funded projects range from classic research projects (e.g. Population trends of marmosets in the Brazilian Amazon) to youth work aimed at improving attitudes towards Amur tigers in Russia, and capacity building among coastal fishing groups in Kenya. The two top awards, each worth USD 50,000, were won by a Cuban project to promote the conservation of the island's plant life, and a Colombian project to protect important habitat for the Critically Endangered Niceforo's wren and Endangered chestnut-bellied hummingbird. To view a full list of funded projects visit http://www.conservationleadershipprogramme.org/projects.asp. A representative from each award-winning team recently took part in CLP's Conservation Management & Leadership Training Workshop at a remote ecological research station in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. The workshop covered topics such as project planning, behaviour change through education and outreach, media training, climate change and fund-raising. Beyond the project funding and training, each award-winning team member will join a network of over 3,500 CLP alumni. This network helps awardees implement conservation projects and carry out research in often challenging and isolated environments. Alumni members also receive access to additional grants, specialized training courses and mentoring from CLP staff and conservation experts. The Programme was initiated in 1985 and is a partnership between Fauna & Flora International, BirdLife International, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. See p. 466 for the call for applications for the 2013 awards.