Olivier Nsengimana: conserving East Africa's Grey Crowned Cranes | 2025 Whitley Gold Award Speech

Описание: “Conservation isn’t about transaction. It's about genuine partnership and understanding communities. Communities want to be part of the solution.”

Veterinarian and conservationist Dr Olivier Nsengimana accepts his 2025 Whitley Gold Award for his work with Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA) to lead protection for Grey Crowned Cranes across East Africa.

Filmed at the Royal Geographical Society, London, as part of the 2025 Whitley Awards ceremony livestream, Olivier shared how a special crane, 039, showed him the importance of community-led conservation, and that cranes don’t rely on protected areas or know countries’ borders.

Olivier plans to strengthen a collaboration with partners in Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi, to create a large transboundary collaboration for the safeguarding of cranes and other species that rely on that landscape.

He also emphasized the importance of trust and home-grown solutions: “I would like to stress the importance of a balanced funding relationship – let the community-led organisations thrive and lead and demonstrate what we can do.”

Watch the full 2025 ceremony here:    • WHITLEY AWARDS 2025 LIVE On Demand  

Find out more about the Whitley Fund for Nature: https://whitleyaward.org/

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