Interviews

CLP is proud to have supported some of the leading lights in conservation and it is always a great pleasure to find out how their careers are progressing.

Past award winners often credit CLP with catalysing their successful careers. Many of them are now working full time in the conservation sector within national and international NGOs, universities, research organisations and private companies as biodiversity consultants. Several CLP alumni are now directing country-wide, regional and global programmes of work.

Future Conservationist Award

Believe in yourself and do it

Nelly Isigi Kadagi , October 2019

Future Conservationist Award Fish
Dr Nelly Isigi Kadagi is Director of Research for the African Billfish Foundation (ABF) and the Co-Principal Investigator for the BILLFISH-WIO project. She recently completed her Ph.D. from the University...Read interview with Nelly Isigi Kadagi

Fish
Future Conservationist Award Fish
Internship

Big picture thinking

Jean Paul Ntungane, May 2019

Internship Bird
In 2011, Jean Paul Ntungane joined the Conservation Leadership Programme alumni network via his CLP internship with BirdLife International in Rwanda. Today he is project manager for the Critical Ecosystem...Read interview with Jean Paul Ntungane

Bird
Internship Bird
Conservation Follow-up Award

Highlights and high hopes

Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi, November 2018

Conservation Follow-up Award Mammal
Spending time in the Himalaya gives Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi tremendous joy. Read about his career to date and the ways he is working to protect his snow leopard companions and the...Read interview with Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi

Mammal
Conservation Follow-up Award Mammal
Conservation Follow-up Award

The Butterfly Effect

Blanca Huertas and Jorge Velásquez, August 2018

Conservation Follow-up Award Invertebrate
An initial encounter in Beijing almost a decade ago, facilitated through CLP travel grants, ultimately paved the way for collaboration between two Colombian CLP alumni, Blanca Huertas and Jorge Velásquez,...Read interview with Blanca Huertas and Jorge Velásquez

Invertebrate
Conservation Follow-up Award Invertebrate
Future Conservationist Award

Being the change

Renata Ferrari Legorreta, March 2018

Future Conservationist Award Multiple
Meet Renata Ferrari Legorreta, Ph.D., a marine ecologist and ecosystem modeler at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences. Renata’s research seeks to understand the dynamics of marine habitats and species...Read interview with Renata Ferrari Legorreta

Multiple
Future Conservationist Award Multiple
Future Conservationist Award

Sowing the seeds

Cristina López-Gallego, December 2017

Future Conservationist Award Plant
In 2009, Colombian biologist Professor Cristina López-Gallego and two fellow botanists won a Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) team award to assess the status of – and put together an action...Read interview with Cristina López-Gallego

Plant
Future Conservationist Award Plant
Conservation Follow-up Award

Saving species in Sulawesi

Iwan Hunowu, September 2017

Conservation Follow-up Award Bird
In 1996, the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) funded Action Sampiri, a project to study the endemic, and elusive, birds of North Sulawesi’s Talaud and Sangihe islands. For research team...Read interview with Iwan Hunowu

Bird
Conservation Follow-up Award Bird
Conservation Follow-up Award

Batman begins

Vu Dinh Thong, March 2017

Conservation Follow-up Award Mammal
In 2001, the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) funded a project led by Vu Dinh Thong to study the diversity and status of bats in Vietnam’s Bach Ma National Park. This...Read interview with Vu Dinh Thong

Mammal
Conservation Follow-up Award Mammal
Conservation Follow-up Award

One giant leap

Mirza Kusrini, October 2016

Conservation Follow-up Award Amphibian
In 2004, the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) funded a project led by Dr Mirza Kusrini to research frog diversity in one of the last pristine forests on the densely populated...Read interview with Mirza Kusrini

Amphibian
Conservation Follow-up Award Amphibian
Conservation Leadership Award

In tune with his environment

Makala Jasper, August 2016

Conservation Leadership Award Plant
A skilled forester and passionate conservationist, Makala Jasper is the co-founder and current CEO of the Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative, which is widely regarded as one of Tanzania’s most...Read interview with Makala Jasper

Plant
Conservation Leadership Award Plant