Blog

Read commentary and opinion pieces on conservation and capacity related themes provided by CLP staff and alumni.

Blood, sweat, frogs and otters

August 18, 2016
A Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) networking grant award enabled alumnus Anirban Dutta Gupta and fellow film-maker Priyanka Kuriakose to meet CLP project teams in India and create two short conservation films. This is their account of how that journey unfolded. As the millionth leech slowly and determinedly climbed up my leg looking for a succulent […]

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Glittering prizes help to shine spotlight on vital conservation work

July 11, 2016
You’ve all heard the joke about buses; you wait ages for one to arrive, then several turn up at once. For the vast majority of conservationists, however, awards tend to be more like telephone engineers; you wait years for one to arrive…and they never turn up at all. In this context, it is gratifying to […]

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Snow leopard conservation measures win female friends in high places

February 05, 2016
Radhika Timbadia reveals how a second Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) award is helping to support her team’s innovative wildlife protection work in the Himalayas. It was three years ago, after a long, tiring journey up the road from Leh to Kaza, that I first visited Spiti, in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Having […]

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Ritual beliefs and greater adjutant stork conservation in Dadara, India

December 01, 2015
By: Purnima Devi Barman, CLP Alumna and Wildlife Biologist, Aaranyak Tree and animal species are symbols of Gods and Goddesses in Indian culture making ritual beliefs an important consideration as we seek to protect our rich biodiversity. Indeed, I have found ritual beliefs to be a major tool for conservation awareness during my entire journey with […]

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From the Himalayas to the Czech Republic

August 28, 2015
By: Martina Anandam (India) Last year I hosted my friend and fellow CLP alumnus, Felipe Ennes Silva, for a CLP Learning Exchange Programme in India. The experience provided many stories to tell over dinner and on rainy nights. This year, I won a CLP Travel Grant to present at two conferences in the Czech Republic. I resolved […]

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Being part of CLP’s International Training Course

August 28, 2015
By: Dilek Sahin (Turkey) I can’t believe that I am writing this blog only a short while after attending CLP’s Conservation Management & Leadership Training course as a winner of a CLP Team Conservation Award. It took two years to get ready for submitting a proposal to CLP and another year to get an approved […]

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Voices of rare ‘talking’ turtles may prevent their extinction

August 06, 2015
Camila Ferrara is an aquatic turtle specialist with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Brazil Programme. Here she tells us about her ground-breaking work to conserve Brazil’s most threatened river turtles. Years ago in the Brazilian Amazon, I was exposed to an unexpected but prevalent philosophy for how humans viewed animals. To the indigenous riverine people I […]

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Dreaming of prosperity and sustainability in the Himalayas

June 16, 2015
After finishing his Masters in Biodiversity and Conservation, Conservation Leadership Programme Alumnus Pramod Kumar Yadav embarked on an enthusiastic career studying the biodiversity, topography and spirituality of the Himalayas. Here, he shares his experiences and reveals his delight at being granted a 2015 CLP Award… The first time I visited the Himalayan Mountains was with […]

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Celebrating 30 years of CLP

March 13, 2015
Reflecting on turning the big 3-0. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Conservation Leadership Programme. It got me thinking about the year 1985 – the year CLP gave out its first award. What was happening back then? I did a little research on the Internet and found out that it was a year […]

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Looking for langurs through a CLP learning exchange

January 05, 2015
Martina Anandam recounts a learning exchange visit during which she hosted another member of the CLP alumni network. ‘Martina! This is extraordinary!’ exclaimed Felipe, trying hard to get pictures of the galloping langur at distance. ‘I can’t believe I am looking at it. The langur… It is beautiful! This is unbelievable!’ Spoken like a true […]

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