24WWF Nepal has announced the names of awardees for this year’s Abraham Conservation Awards, Matthew Preece & Yeshi Choden Lama Young Conservation Leader Award, WWF Media in Conservation Award and a Special Conservation Award.

The awardees included five individuals and one organisation that had made exemplary contributions to biodiversity conservation in Nepal.

“For conservation efforts to thrive, leadership of individuals and organizations right at the grassroots level is an imperative. This is where energies need to be focused as well as harnessed for greater conservation impact” stated Mr. Anil Manandhar, Country Representative of WWF Nepal. “The Conservation Awards, now in its 19th year, celebrate the power of the human spirit to create change for the sake of a living planet.”

Under the Abraham Conservation Awards, Sundari Community Forest Users Group from Amarapuri in Nawalparasi was provided the award under the organization category while Dr. Indra Prasad Sapkota, Planning Officer at the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, and Prakash BK, a social mobilizer, were provided awards under the individual category.

Senior Journalist at Annapurna Post, Pitamber Sigdel was awarded the WWF Media in Conservation Award. Bikash Pathak Chhetri, coordinator of the Community-Based Anti-Poaching Unit under Kerunga Buffer Zone Users Committee in Chitwan, was awarded the Matthew Preece & Yeshi Choden Lama Young Conservation Leader Award.

A Special Conservation Award was also conferred upon Chandra Kala Budha, Treasurer at Taranga-Siddhachuli Buffer Zone Users Community in Bardia.

“While I am honored to receive this award, I must mention that all my efforts in conservation would be incomplete without the support of the local communities who have shown tremendous commitment towards protecting Nepal’s rich biodiversity,” stated Dr. Indra Prasad Sapkota, one of the awardees of the Abraham Conservation Awards. “It is all the more important to address the needs of the local communities, especially in the context of human-wildlife conflict which is one of our immediate challenges, whereby their ownership towards biodiversity conservation can be sustained.”

The Conservation Awards are offered to organizations and individuals to honor their outstanding feats in the field of conservation in areas such as natural resource management, biodiversity protection, social mobilizationand journalism. The award holds a citation and cash prize of NRs. 25,000 for individuals and NRs. 50,000 for organisations.