- Land Rover joins Sir David Attenborough and Tusk royal patron the Duke of Cambridge for the 2016 Tusk Conservation Awards at the V&A Museum, London
- Awards recognise excellence in conservation in Africa and tireless efforts to protect its most vulnerable animals
- Cathy Dreyer from South Africa presented with the Land Rover-supported Tusk Award for Conservation, for her commitment to, and remarkable success in protecting black rhino, work vital to the survival of this iconic species
- Annual event demonstrates continued support of Land Rover, whose vehicles' all-terrain capability, durability and reliability make them a natural choice for worldwide conservation work
Coventry, UK, 1 December 2016 – Sir David Attenborough presented the Land Rover-supported Tusk Award for Conservation last night as he joined royal patron the Duke of Cambridge to honour extraordinary commitment to African wildlife.
Tusk supporters including Bear Grylls, Deborah Meaden and Katherine Jenkins joined the Duke and special guest presenter Sir David Attenborough at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to shine a light on the incredible work of individual conservationists. The evening centred on three awards; the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa, the Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa and the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award.
This year's Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa, sponsored by Land Rover and presented by Sir David Attenborough, was awarded to Cathy Dreyer from South Africa, for her commitment to, and remarkable success in protecting black rhino, work vital to the survival of this iconic species. Cathy was handed a beautiful trophy designed by Tiffany's, as well as a grant of £20,000 for her work. Cathy said, "It is an incredible honour and privilege to be nominated and an even bigger privilege to have won the award. It is through working with organisations like Tusk and Land Rover that we are able to do our work and be inspired."
All three category finalists were present at the ceremony, with the two runners-up Dr Olivier Nsengimana and Rachel McRobb each receiving a grant of £7,500 for their conservation work in Africa.
Mark Cameron, Land Rover Brand Experience Director, said: "Land Rover is proud to sponsor the Tusk Conservation Award, now in its fourth year. The nominees' determination and endeavour reflects the ethos that sits at the heart of the Land Rover brand; going Above and Beyond. It is truly inspiring to see how each individual has contributed to the conservation needs in their local community and I hope the awards continue to recognise their efforts, and enable them to build a sustainable future for the African continent and its wildlife"".
A special lifetime achievement award, the Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa, was awarded to John Kahekwe from the Democratic Republic of Congo for a life lived in pursuit of a future for the Grauer's gorilla within the Congo's war zones. John also received a trophy specially designed by Tiffany, as well as a £40,000 grant towards his work.
The third and final award, the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award, offers international recognition to the men and women who face daily danger to protect Africa's wildlife. It was awarded to Manuel Sacaia from the Kissama Foundation in Angola for his work protecting the giant sable antelope. Rangers often work for little reward, risking and regularly losing their lives to protect the world's wildlife and its fragile ecosystems. In his 72 years, Manuel has faced soldiers, armed poachers, steel-jawed traps and even a hungry lion in his quest to protect the magnificent, endangered animal. Manuel will receive a £10,000 grant and a specially made bronze medal.
The partnership between Land Rover and Tusk began in 2001 with the support of the Lewa Marathon in Kenya. Since then Land Rover vehicles have been used to support the Trust's work across Africa and four years ago became a proud sponsor of the Tusk Conservation Awards.
Land Rover is committed to conservation and operates a global CSR strategy to benefit millions of disadvantaged people across the world and the Tusk Awards do a fantastic job of recognising outstanding individuals who carry out these principles every day.
Support Tusk by using #ForAllTheyDo, #TuskAwards, Tusk_org
ENDS
Editors Note:
Land Rover
Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true 'breadth of capability' across the model range. Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's SUV sectors, with 80 per cent of this model range exported to over 170 countries.
Tusk Award winners
Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa
Winner: Cathy Dreyer
Cathy started her career over 17 years ago at the age of 22 with South African National Parks as a conservation student, assisting with the capture of black rhino. This became a turning point in her life as she developed a deep, lifelong passion for the species (Cathy calls it a "slight obsession"), which has shaped her career in conservation.
Coming from humble roots and starting a career at the bottom of the ladder, Cathy's perseverance and focus built a career which graphically illustrates that being disadvantaged is not a barrier to achieving great heights, not only in conservation but also in life itself. On hearing about her nomination, Cathy said: "It has been incredibly humbling and I am truly honored to have been nominated for this award."
Cathy's success has been totally through her own efforts and as a woman she has faced greater challenges than most. She admits that: "I have always been driven by my work and family has had to take a back seat for a number of years." Crucially, Cathy has helped to bring people working in conservation together, principally in a number of national and international rhino translocations. Her response to the nomination shows her overarching modesty: "This nomination is as much for the people who have inspired me, taught me what I know and continue to motivate me daily."
Cathy's work has led directly to the establishment of new black rhino populations and in South Africa, the country with the highest population of rhino – yet facing the highest rate of poaching – Cathy offers the potential to provide vital protection for this species far into the future. Behind her success is her approach to life: "the harder the battle the sweeter the victory".
Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa
Winner: John Kahekwe, Pole Pole Foundation, DRC
General Manager and founder of the PolePole Foundation in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) John Kahekwa was formerly the chief tracker of the Lowland Gorillas in the nearby Kahuzi-Biega national park. Having observed the human pressures on local natural resources while also dealing with the conflicts raging in eastern DRC at the time John Kahekwe set out to find a sustainable solution that could contribute to the protection of the natural resources of the park and to the alleviation of the socio-economic crisis hitting the local communities.
Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award
Winner: Manuel Sacaia, from the Kissama Foundation, Angola
Born in the Luando reserve that is the antelope's last wilderness home, Manuel was working as a teen-age ranger when Angola's civil war broke out in 1979. Rebel fighters detained him after invading the area, but he managed a daring night time escape through the bush. He later returned to the abandoned reserve and his family and monitored the last antelope herds in his spare time. In 2009, he led conservationists to the spot where they caught their first bull for a last-ditch breeding program. Two years later he was guarding three captured Giant Sables when a lion crept up to their makeshift pen. Manuel climbed up a tree but fell down, bumping his head so hard that he still suffers headaches. In 2005, Manuel stepped on a powerful leg trap laid by poachers. The trap closed on his boot not his bare leg - sparing him from a life-threatening injury.
Tusk
Tusk has been working since 1990 to build a sustainable future for the African continent and its wildlife. Since its formation in 1990 Tusk with its affiliate, Tusk USA, has raised £25m for a wide range of projects across Africa, which not only work to protect wildlife, particularly endangered species, but also help to alleviate poverty through sustainable development and education amongst rural communities who live alongside wildlife.
HRH The Duke of Cambridge became Royal Patron of Tusk in December 2005 and he has actively supported the charity's work both privately and publicly on many occasions. In June 2010, The Duke visited the work of Tusk in Botswana with his brother Prince Harry during their first joint overseas tour. It has been both the Prince's and the charity's long-term ambition to create an awards programme to celebrate outstanding achievement in African conservation. The inaugural event at The Royal Society in September 2013, attended by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, became the focus of the TV documentary, "Prince William's Passion: New Father, New Hope" broadcast by ITV and CNN around the world.
For more information see www.tusk.org.