School children living around Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda, where Whitley Award winner Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka works to show local people how their behaviour can impact the health of their mountain gorilla neighbours. © Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka.
A snow leopard caught on camera near Kibber in the Indian Himalayas, where Continuation Funding winner Charu Mishra has introduced simple community-run insurance schemes that compensate herders for any livestock lost to wild predators. © Charu Mishra.
In 2010/11, The Rufford Foundation provided a grant of £50,000 to the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).
WFN offers project funding and profile to some of the world’s most effective grassroots conservation leaders. Every year, up to eight new winners of ‘The Whitley Award’ are selected as part of an open application process designed to highlight the tireless work of community leaders who combine science, advocacy, and education to great effect for conservation gain. Winners are selected on the basis of need and potential impact, and as a result WFN’s focus is predominantly Asia, Latin America and Africa. Whitley Awards are worth up to £60,000 and are presented by HRH The Princess Royal and Sir David Attenborough at an annual ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society. As well as project funding, winners also receive professional training in communication and media skills to help them maximise the impact of winning The Whitley Award on returning to their countries.
WFN is committed to long-lasting results for conservation and, to achieve this, the most effective winners reapply to WFN after the completion of their project for Continuation Funding to expand and extend the impact of their work.
The Rufford Foundation is one of WFN’s major donors. In 2010/11, funds contributed to vital core support for the charity. WFN is a cost-efficient organisation which is very effective in generating funds for international conservation and spends over 85% of its income on direct conservation.
