The Whitley Award for Russia’s Vadim Kirilyuk - Mongolian gazelle

Princess presents top conservation accolade to Russia’s Vadim Kirilyuk

LONDON, UK: 12 MAY 2010 - HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) tonight presented one of the world’s top prizes for grassroots nature conservation – a Whitley Award – to Dr Vadim Kirilyuk of Russia, for his work to win better protection for the Mongolian gazelle and for the places and routes the herds use while migrating through the vast steppe covering Russia’s border with Mongolia.

Dr Kirilyuk, the Deputy Director of the Daursky Biosphere Reserve, received his honour during a ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society, London, hosted by The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) – the UK-based charity behind the international awards scheme.

The Whitley Award for Vadim Kirilyuk includes a project grant of £30,000 - donated by The William Brake Charitable Trust - an engraved trophy, membership of the influential network of past Whitley Award winners, international recognition and leadership development training.

The award to Vadim Kirilyuk recognises his efforts to conserve Central Asia’s last great land migration spectacle by gaining greater protection for the Mongolian gazelle as it crosses the vast Daurian steppe at the border between Russia and Mongolia, including by rallying local people to help reduce hunting, improve grazing and opening up safer routes for the animals in border fences.

The evening’s top prize - the £60,000 Whitley Gold Award – went to Dr Angela Maldonado of Colombia for her efforts around the Colombia-Peru border to end the illegal capture of night monkeys for biomedical research, including by developing alternative, sustainable, ways for rainforest communities to earn a living.

In addition, Her Royal Highness also presented six other Whitley Awards worth £30,000 each to conservation leaders from Argentina, Cameroon, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and Uruguay.

Commenting on Vadim Kirilyuk’s success, Georgina Domberger, Director of the Whitley Fund for Nature, said: "The aim of the Whitley Awards is to identify and fund leading grassroots conservationists from around the world who are using their scientific expertise and local knowledge to inspire real and positive change for people and wildlife and the habitats they share. In the case of Vadim Kirilyuk, the judges were particularly impressed by the impact his work and that of local people is having on the numbers of Mongolian gazelle now being seen in Russia.

“When Vadim first visited the Daursky reserve 20 years ago, no gazelle were present. Yet in 10 years, numbers have increased 40-fold and now there are plans to extend the protected area even further, to the benefit of both biodiversity and people.“

The ceremony at which Vadim Kirilyuk received his accolade was co-hosted by BBC wildlife presenter Kate Humble and witnessed by a 350-strong audience which included embassy representatives, Whitley Fund for Nature donors, including HSBC, and WWF-UK, and leading environmentalists.

In all, grants worth £270,000 were presented, bringing the total amount distributed by the Whitley Awards since their inception to £6m across 55 countries.

The Whitley Awards scheme is an annual competition, now in its 17th year. It exists to identify, fund and encourage inspirational local conservation leaders and their teams in developing countries. To find out more about the charity and its work please see: www.whitleyaward.org.