The shortlist for the Tusk Conservation Awards and winner of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award have been announced.
Tusk is a conservation charity, whose goal is to address the numerous challenges encountered by Africa’s wildlife and its people. Prince William became Royal Patron of Tusk in December 2005.
The Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award recipient was announced, and Edward Ndiritu winner of the award was notified prior to the November ceremony. Ndiritu is being feted for his exceptional work as head of the anti-poaching unit for the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya.
William sent a personal note of congratulations to Mr Ndiritu thanking him for the work he and his team have undertaken defending the defenceless wildlife and enhancing security in the north of the country.
Ndiritu will be in London this autumn to accept his award from The Duke of Cambridge.
The nominees and are:
• Dr Mary Molokwu-Odozi from Libreria. She has created academic forestry and conservation programmes despite obstacles and unusual circumstances that typically would thwart most people’s efforts, she still prevailed.
• Dr Emmanuel de Merode from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is notable for his dedication to defending the extraordinary biodiversity of Virunga, particularly the mountain gorilla despite civil war and unrest.
• Mr Cosmas Mumba from Zambia. He has shown exceptional enthusiasm and dedication in his work saving primates. It was his commitment that helped developed a model primate release programme.
“Choosing just three outstanding conservation champions for our shortlist for the Tusk Award was extremely tough. We look forward to celebrating the work of our winner and all the finalists when they join us in London on November 24th,” Tusk chief executive Charlie Mayhew commented.
William is a keen supporter of the charity’s work both personally and publicly on numerous occasions. In 2010, William along with Prince Harry carried out a tour of Botswana. Three years later, he launched the Tusk Conservation Awards.
William is not only focussed on the crisis in Africa but across the globe.
Last week, it was announced that William would deliver a speech on Chinese television to ask for assistance in combating the illegal wildlife trade in Asia. The spot will be recorded in London and televised as part of the series ‘Let’s Talk’ that airs in China.
William’s brother, Prince Harry recently returned from Africa after spending time working to save the black rhino from extinction at the hands of African poachers.
Photo credit: UK in Japan-FCO via Flickr
