From blocking forestation to influencing a decline in poaching, meet this year’s Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa winners
The Prince of Wales has urged people to come together despite “turbulent times” and do everything in their power “to halt the frightening decline in species that our planet has witnessed over the last 50 years”.
Speaking at the 10th edition of the annual Tusk Awards For Conservation in Africa, held last night at Hampton Court Palace, Prince William highlighted the work of the conservation experts who risk their own lives in order safeguard the “precious” ecosystems of Africa: “We are living through turbulent times and it is all too easy to lose sight of how critical it is that we look after our natural world. But we must remain focused on investing in nature and the environment, protecting it for future generations. We must not pass on the baton to our children and grandchildren, apologising for our lack of collective action.”
The Prince, who is the charity’s royal patron, also presented the Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa to two remarkable individuals: conservationist Ian Craig, who works at the Lewa conservancy where the Prince once carried out an internship, and Achilles Brunnel Byaruhanga, a birdlife expert working in Uganda.
At almost exactly the same time every evening, a small herd of buffalo gathers below Ian Craig’s hilltop home on the Laikipia Plateau.