WHITLEY AWARD
People for Planet Summit - 2025
On 8 October 2025, the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) held its second People for Planet Summit at London’s Royal Institution, bringing together grassroots conservation leaders, technology, science and finance experts to explore real-world solutions for nature and biodiversity.
A highlight of the event was the participation of Anjali Watson – co-founder of the Wilderness & Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT) in Sri Lanka – who was a panelist on the “Species on the Move” panel, and was also a speaker for the "Beyond Boundaries" segment highlighting WWCT's pioneering work to protect the island’s apex predator, the Sri Lankan leopard, by creating ecological corridors through fragmented tea-estate landscapes in the Central Highlands.
Her presentation underscored how these corridors not only help the leopard roam safely, but also contribute to watershed protection and landscape resilience.
Other notable speakers included:
* Farwiza Farhan, founder of the Indonesian NGO Yayasan HAkA, working to protect the Leuser Ecosystem (home of orangutans, elephants, rhinos and tigers).
* Dr Fernando Trujillo of Colombia, founder of the Omacha Foundation, focused on river dolphins and freshwater ecosystem conservation.
* Dr Rachel Graham, founder of the marine-conservation NGO MarAlliance, working on shark and ocean ecosystems in multiple tropical countries. I
* Dr Munir Virani, CEO of the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, dedicated to protecting threatened birds of prey globally.
Also featured at the summit and honoured to have been able to chat with was Drew Purves from Google Deepmind and Martin Wikelsky from the Max Planck Institute on the amazing technological breakthroughs they are spearheading for nature monitoring.
It was truly an honour for Sri Lanka’s conservation community that Anjali Watson was among this global cohort of conservation leaders, sharing the stage in London and helping bring Sri Lankan leopards and their habitat challenges to a global audience. The summit’s atmosphere—marked by hope, collaboration and innovation—underscored how local efforts can scale and connect with global initiatives.
Whitley Fund for Nature Awards - 2018
The WWCT is delighted to have recently been recognized by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) and become the proud recipient of a Whitley Award.
This prestigious international award honours grassroots conservationists across the world's South. WWCT’s co-founder and managing trustee Anjali Watson was selected from 136 applicants across 48 countries to be 1 of 6 final winners. A gold award was also given to a returning WFN alumnus.
The 25th Anniversary Whitley Awards Ceremony took place on 25th April at the Royal Geographic Society in London. The event was hosted by WFN Ambassador and BBC presenter Kate Humble whilst the awards were presented by HRH The Princess Royal.
This award not only serves to highlight the importance of ground level work done by WWCT for leopard conservation but also provides specific project funding for our continued work in utilizing the leopard as a flagship for conservation in Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands. With one of our primary focuses being securing protection for the wildlife ridge corridor identified between the Maskeliya and Castlereigh reservoirs and continued monitoring of leopard space use in this mixed tea country landscape.
You can find more information on the Whitley Award and clips from the night here: https://whitleyaward.org/winners/leopards-as-a-flagship-for-wildlife-corridors/
The Leopard Project > Montane zone Ridge forests and specifically for the tea country > The Leopard Project > Montane zone Ridge forests > Peak Wilderness & Bogawanthalawa Valley.