Wildlife Trust Logo Wildlife Trust Alliance Scientists Win Prestigious Whitley Awards
Top Conservation Honor Awarded By HRH Princess Anne
NEW YORK - May 18, 2007 - Two Wildlife Trust Alliance members were recognized at the 2007 Whitley Awards in London on May 10. Dr. Luis Aguirre of BIOTA won The Whitley Award in memory of Daniel Kelly, donated by the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, and Dr. Cristián Bonacic, Director of Fauna Australis in Chile, received a Whitley Commendation. Hosted by Sir David Attenborough at The Royal Geographical Society, a total of ten of the UK's top conservation prize, plus the Whitley Gold Award, were presented by Whitley Fund for Nature patron, HRH The Princess Royal.
Mary C. Pearl, President of Wildlife Trust, said, "These are the premiere international awards given exclusively to developing nation conservationists. Whitley laureates are working at the front lines of biodiversity conservation and winning, and we are delighted that two members of the Wildlife Trust winners were recognized."
Aguirre, described as one of the most promising young conservationists in Latin America today, is co-coordinator for the Bolivian Bat Conservation Program (BBCP) of BIOTA. The BBCP is studying how human activities are affecting bat species and the ecology and biodiversity of endangered tropical montane forest systems. Through workshops involving schools, universities, ranchers, private and governmental organizations, Luis is trying to change people's misconceptions about bats, illustrating the benefits of them and showing people how to coexist with them.
Recognized for his conservation and animal welfare work in the high Andes, Bonacic will receive a grant to support his work to save the shy and rare vicuna from decline. Vicunas are thought to be the wild ancestors of the alpaca, and are best known for their very expensive and extremely fine wool. It has taken decades to bring the vicuna back from near extinction, but demand for their wool remains. For the last ten years, Cristián has been working on solving the practical questions of how to capture and shear the wild vicunas for fiber production in the Andes. The results have become a model for training local communities and now other Andean communities are now starting management programs.
"These awards recognize the best of the growing community of conservation leaders from around the globe, honoring scientist practitioners working successfully under extreme political and environmental difficulties," said Andrew Taber, co-coordinator of the Wildlife Trust Alliance and Executive Vice President for Programs at Wildlife Trust. "I find their accomplishments, recognized by the Whitley Awards, both reassuring and uplifting at a time when the world faces unprecedented environmental threats. I am deeply proud and honored to have been able to help several of this year's winners advance their careers. Congratulations to them all!"
Since 1994, Whitley Awards have been awarded annually by UK-based conservation charity the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN). One of the largest nature conservation awards available, the "Green Oscars" recognize outstanding work by conservation leaders around the world fighting to safeguard the planet's resources and wildlife. Wildlife Trust Alliance members have garnered 14 Whitley Awards and have used the award money to fund innovative conservation solutions around the globe.