The BBVA Foundation ramps up its commitment to the environment in the 21st edition of the revamped Biodiversity Awards, now including new categories for projects in Africa and Education and Communication initiatives in any country

For more than two decades now, nature conservation has been a priority focus area for the BBVA Foundation, with efforts centering on three key areas: scientific research to expand understanding of the natural environment, direct actions on the ground pursuing its increased protection, and the building of social awareness around the importance of the challenge. This concern for the defense of the environment finds expression in the BBVA Foundation Biodiversity Program, encompassing the full suite of the Foundation’s activities to further the preservation of all forms of life with which we share the planet. Forming part of the program is this new call for entries for the BBVA Foundation Biodiversity Conservation Awards, which, after celebrating their 20th edition last year, will henceforth be known as the BBVA Foundation Biodiversity Awards.

Established in 2004, the goal of these awards is to distinguish people and institutions that have mobilized scientific knowledge to inform action – achieving significant, measurable and lasting results – or influence public opinion. Until the present edition, the awards were organized into three categories, recognizing actions to conserve and protect habitats, species and ecosystems in Spain, Latin America and any country in the world. plus a fourth category reserved for salient contributions to building social awareness and understanding through environmental journalism and communication in the Spanish language.

In this 21st edition call, the three action categories are joined by a fourth devoted to species and ecosystem conservation projects in Africa, while the awareness and outreach category enlarges its perimeter to take in outstanding achievements in the field of environmental education, both within Spain and through a new global category recognizing contributions to raising environmental awareness from any country.

The BBVA Foundation’s Biophilia Award, distinguishing contributions that address environmental concerns from the realms of the environmental humanities and social sciences, will also be bought within this family of prizes, starting from the current edition. 

As a result of these changes, the BBVA Foundation Biodiversity Awards will now be structured as follows:

• Biodiversity Award Spain, funded with 250,000 euros
• Biodiversity Award Latin America, funded with 250,000 euros
• Biodiversity Award Africa, funded with 250,000 euros
• Biodiversity Award Worldwide, funded with 250,000 euros
• Biophilia Award in Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences, funded with 100,000 euros
• Biodiversity Award Environmental Education and Communication in Spain, funded with 80,000 euros
• Biodiversity Award Environmental Education and Communication Worldwide, funded with 80,000 euros

These awards take their place in the BBVA Foundation Biodiversity Program alongside the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Climate Change and Environmental Sciences category, which positions this research area on an equal footing with other scientific and artistic disciplines like basic sciences, biology and biomedicine, information and communication technologies, and music. Additionally, since 2001, the BBVA Foundation has supported research projects in the environmental sciences, especially ecology and biodiversity conservation, through its Fundamentos Program, Prisms & Problems Program, and Leonardo Grants for Scientific Research and Cultural Creation. The strategic reach of the BBVA Foundation Biodiversity Program accordingly extends across all the main resources to address the environmental crisis, from scientific research – including the humanities and social sciences – to actions in nature conservation and the raising of social awareness on the scale of the challenges ahead.