SA man in line to win ‘Green Oscar’

A SOUTH African has been shortlisted for the world’s most high-profile conservation award.

In what is commonly known as the “Green Oscars”‚ Dr Ian Little, of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), stands to win £35 000 (R610 000) in project funding from the Whitley Fund for Nature at a ceremony in London later this month.

Little‚ senior manager of the habitats programme at the EWT‚ was one of six selected from 169 applicants worldwide.

The six nominees include a Philippines project that entails partnering with prisoners to safeguard the critically endangered Philippine cockatoo and an Indian project working on reducing deforestation in Karnataka’s tiger corridors.

Little has been selected for his work as a custodian of South Africa’s threatened grassland biodiversity.

Should he not take home an award‚ Little will not return emptyhanded. Whitley will present him with a documentary on the work of the EWT‚ narrated by veteran broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

The documentary will be available on YouTube following the award ceremony.

Attenborough is a trustee of the organisation. The awards are presented by the organisation’s patron‚ Britain’s Princess Anne.

Little said although he felt he was standing on the shoulders of the many others who had worked alongside him‚ the prize was an opportunity to meet influential people in the world of conservation.

“Even if I don’t win‚ the link to the Whitley network will help us find key donors and give us more clout at home,” he said.

The Whitley Fund for Nature gives ongoing support to outstanding nature conservationists around the developing world.

The event takes place at the Royal Geographical Society in London on May 18.