J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership

The J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership has been awarded annually since 2006 in recognition of outstanding leadership in global conservation. The award aims to acknowledge individuals making "pioneering and substantial" contributions to conservation as well as foster the development of future leaders in conservation. The $200,000 cash award goes to fund graduate fellowships for students in conservation-related fields. These fellowships are established at the institution of higher learning of the awardee's choice and named in honor of the award recipient and J. Paul Getty.

Currently, the award is administered by the World Wildlife Fund on behalf of the Getty family. Conservation organizations worldwide submit nominations to the WWF and winners are selected by an impartial panel of judges from the conservation community. The Getty Award recognizes achievement in three annually rotating categories: political leadership in conservation (2006), leadership in conservation science (2007), and community leadership in conservation (2008). The 2009 Getty Award will mark begin the second rotation by again recognizing outstanding achievement in political conservation leadership.

History

The prize was first instituted by philanthropist and businessman J. Paul Getty in 1974 as the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize. Initially, the prize had the broad aim to recognize "outstanding contributions to international conservation" but was renamed in 2004 to reflect a restructuring of the award to "give it greater focus and strengthen its impact on conservation."^[1] The newly established J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership was awarded for the first time in 2006.

In 1983 the Wildlife Conservation Prize was presented to the awardees by President Ronald Reagan at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. According to Russell E. Train, the president of the World Wildlife Fund in the United States at the time, Reagan referred to the Getty Award as the "Nobel Prize for conservation."

Recipients

J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership recipients (2008-2006)^[1]

Year	Name	Country	Category	Basis of award
2008	Roger Samba	Madagascar	Community Leadership in Conservation	Organized the world's first community-managed no-take zone for octopus More
2007	Dr. K. Ullas Karanth	India	Leadership in Conservation Science	Developed sophisticated and accurate methods for monitoring wild animal populations and in recognition of his many other contributions to conservation More
2006	His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, King of Bhutan	Bhutan	Political Leadership in Conservation	Brought about government policies that have substantially benefitted conservation and increased environmental sustainability in Bhutan More

J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize recipients (2003-1974)

Year	Name	Organization	Country	Basis of award
2003	Dmitry Lisitsyn	Sakhalin Environmental Watch	Russia	Worked to hold oil companies responsible for their effects on the environment of Sakhalin Island
	Haji Masdjuni		East Kalimantan, Indonesia	Achievements in sea turtle protection
	Francisco Solis Germani	Coastal Range Coalition	Chile	Played a significant role in the rerouting of Chile's Southern Coastal highway
	Lester Seri	Conservation Melanesia	Papua New Guinea	Aided the native Maisin people to reduce the negative impacts of unsustainable farming techniques
	Yang Xin	Greenriver Environmental Protection Association	Tibet, China	Worked with Chinese government to protect the Tibetan antelope and the Yangtze River at its source
2002	Antonio Reina		Mozambique	Contributed to the conservation of Mozambique's coastal region, including the expansion of the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park
2001		Charles Darwin Foundation	Ecuador	In recognition of more than 40 years of conservation work in the Galápagos Islands and for its response to the Jessica oil spill occurring this year
2000	Julia Carabias Lillo		Mexico	Contributed greatly to the protection of Mexico's biodiversity and to the development of an international model of resource management that harmonizes environmental concerns with those of people
1999			Trinational NGO Alliance for the Gulf of Honduras	Contributed to the protection and conservation of coastal and marine resources of the Gulf of Honduras
	Pan Wenshi		China	Broke ground in panda conservation with a career that has advanced understanding of the giant panda and laid a foundation for new conservation programs
1998	M. Jean-Bosco Kpanou		Central Republic of Africa	Habituated lowland gorillas in the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park
1997		Forest Stewardship Council	Oaxaca, Mexico	For promoting environmentally sound forest management by harnessing the power of the marketplace
1996		Fundação Pro-TAMAR	Salvador, Brazil	For turtle conservation
		Pawikan Conservation Project and Taman-Taman Sabah (Sabah Parks)	Quezon City, Philippines and Sabah, Malaysia (respectively)	For safeguarding a vital nesting area for sea turtles
1995		The Parc National des Volcans (Volcanoes National Park)	Rwanda	For park staff's dedication and heroism in protecting mountain gorillas during civil war
1994		Sherubtse College	Bhutan	For developing an innovative environmental studies program
		COMUNIDEC	Ecuador	For fostering a grass roots conservation movement in Ecuador
1992/ 1993		West Bengal Forest Protection Committees	India	For their innovative community-based approach to sustainable management of the region's forests
		CODDEFFAGOLF	Honduras	For raising awareness of threats to marine and coastal resources and promoting stricter environmental law enforcement
1991		Fundacion Peruana para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza	Peru	For conservation achievements in Manú National Park and Biosphere Reserve
		Ghandruk Forest Management Committee, Annapurna Conservation Area Project	Nepal	For its involvement of local residents in the protection of their natural resources
1990	Dr. Emil Salim		Indonesia	Led incorporation of environmental assessments into Indonesian law as the Minister of State for Population and the Environment
1989	Professor Miguel Alvarez del Toro		Chiapas, Mexico	Helped establish 11 reserves, fought to preserve Mexico's wildlife, and authored books and technical publications on Chiapas
1988	Dr. Perez Olindo		Kenya	Made significant contributions to preserving Kenya's natural resources and played a leading role in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) African Elephant Working Group
1987	Dr. Hemanta Mishra		Nepal	Broke ground with his biotic studies on Mt. Everest and in recognition of his development of Nepal's park systems, work on implementing Operation Tiger
1986	Sir Peter Scott		Great Britain	Co-founded the World Wildlife Fund in 1961 and made lifelong contributions to saving endangered wildlife
1985	Henri and Jean de Heaulme		Madagascar	Worked to preserve Madagascar's unique and endangered wildlife
1984	Dr. Jane Goodall		Tanzania	Pioneered research on wild chimpanzees and increased public awareness of conservation efforts
1983	Alvaro Ugalde and Mario Andres Boza		Costa Rica	Helped build Costa Rica's national park system
1981	Dr. Maria Tereza Jorge Pádua and Dr. Paulo Nogueira Neto		Brazil	Played roles in advancing Brazilian environmental legislation, establishing national parks, and supporting a network of ecological research stations
1980	Dr. Harold J. Coolidge		United States	Founded the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and in recognition of his career at the National Council
1979	Dr. Boonsong Lekagul		Thailand	Rediscovered the kouprey and in recognition of his 30-year commitment to nature education and national parks
1976	Major Ian Grimwood		United Kingdom	Rescued the last three Arabian Oryx and worked to protect the wildlife and natural areas of Africa, Asia, and South America
1975	Dr. Salim Ali		India	Studied and worked to conserve Asian birds
1974	Dr. Felipe Benavides		Peru	Worked to save the vicuña and other endangered Latin American wildlife

Brief Awardee Biographies

• Salim Ali (1975)
  • Salim Ali, referred to as the "Birdman of India", became the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrote several bird books that popularized ornithology in India.
• Dr. K. Ullas Karanth (2007)
  • Dr. Karanth has done pioneering work on tiger and other carnivore conservation across India, particularly in the Nagarhole wildlife sanctuary. He is also seen as the motivating spirit behind the creation of three protected areas in the Western Ghats forest of Southeastern India. The money will go towards funding graduate research at the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore.

See also

• List of environmental awards