Cambridge, England, June 30, 2008—The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is proud to announce the winners of the 2008 Conservation Team Awards. This year, the Programme granted 28 awards to research teams in 14 different countries with support totaling $475,000.
The CLP, formerly known as the BP Conservation Programme, supports the vital work of a new generation of rising conservation professionals who are helping to drive practical projects addressing a wide range of global environmental issues, from protecting threatened wildlife in the Amazon of Brazil, to conservation of threatened amphibians in Colombia, endangered hooded crane in China, and tigers in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
"The Conservation Leadership Programme awards aim to develop leadership potential in a new generation of conservation professionals." said Marianne Carter, CLP Executive Manager. "We are able to address global conservation priorities at a local level by assisting and encouraging teams of young people to undertake important conservation projects across a set of 20 countries around the world."
The Programme received 149 applications this year, and of the 28 awards granted, 20 are Future Conservationist awards, six are Follow-up awards and two are Leadership awards. The team projects specialize in amphibian, bird, fish, mammal, reptile, plant and habitat research and conservation action.
As part of the award, one member from each team is heading to Tennessee, USA to represent their project at a training course that will be held in conjunction with the Society for Conservation Biology's Annual Meeting in Chattanooga. The training and conference will run from July 1 to July 18, 2008. The CLP introductory training is aimed at developing innovative project management, conservation education, facilitation and communication skills.
In addition, the CLP is teaming up with IDEA WILD this year, an organization that works to minimize biodiversity loss by providing biologists and educators working in developing countries with equipment and supplies to aid in their conservation efforts. IDEA WILD has committed a minimum of $500 worth of equipment to each CLP award-winning team.
The year's winning projects include:
Future Conservationist Awards
Conservation Follow-up Awards
Conservation Leadership Awards
For more detailed information on this year's awardees and their conservation research projects, please visit the Programme's new website: www.ConservationLeadershipProgramme.org .
The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a partnership between BP, BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. The initiative has been running since 1985. The partners share a common concern for, and a commitment to, our natural environment and its constituent biodiversity. The missions of the four conservation organizations are dedicated to the notion of conserving biodiversity and supporting a sustainable relationship between people and nature. For more information about CLP, please visit www.ConservationLeadershipProgramme.org . Images are available on request from clp@birdlife.org