Pakistani conservationist shortlisted for prestigious international award
Islamabad: (PR) The Whitley Fund for Nature is pleased to announce today, 30th March 2016, the shortlist of seven finalists for the annual Whitley Awards. This prestigious international prize honours exceptional individuals who, through their outstanding conservation work in developing countries, are redefining the way people engage with the natural world in the 21st century.
Selected from 130 applicants from all over the world, the seven wildlife conservationists shortlisted this year for the chance to win an Award and a share in funding worth £245,000 are: Gilbert Baase Adum (Ghana; giant squeaker frogs); Farwiza Farhan (Sumatran orangutans; Indonesia); Makala Jasper (Tanzania; sustainable forestry in the greater Selous ecosystem); Karau Kuna (Papua New Guinea; tree kangaroos); Muhammad Ali Nawaz (Pakistan; snow leopards); Alexander Rukhaia (Georgia; birds-of-prey); Juliette Velosoa (Madagascar; freshwater turtles).
Media are invited to attend a press conference on Wednesday 27 April 2016 to meet with and interview the finalists who will be in London for the annual Whitley Awards Ceremony, presented by WFN’s patron, HRH The Princess Royal.
The charity’s patron will announce the final results at a special evening ceremony hosted by television presenter Kate Humble and attended by WFN trustee Sir David Attenborough on Wednesday 27 April at the Royal Geographical Society in London. HRH The Princess Royal will also present an additional prize, the Whitley Gold Awardworth £50,000, to 2011 Whitley Award winner Hotlin Ompusunggu, a dentist working in Indonesian Borneo, to improve the health and well-being of rainforest communities while safeguarding a globally important habitat for orangutans, gibbons and hornbills. Hotlin’s novel approach which marries healthcare with conservation has resulted in a significant reduction in illegal logging in Gunung Palung National Park, and replicating this successful model to other sites in South East Asia is now being explored.
A press conference has been scheduled for 27th April 2016 at The Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7, where the nominees will also be available for interviews.
