20th edition Biodiversity Conservation Awards

For two decades now, biodiversity conservation has been a priority focus area for the BBVA Foundation, which promotes not only efforts to advance scientific understanding of the natural environment but also direct action on the ground pursuing its increased protection. It is these practical successes that are addressed by the Biodiversity Conservation Awards, which this year celebrate their 20th edition. Their purpose is to distinguish people and institutions that have mobilized scientific knowledge to inform action – achieving significant, measurable and lasting results – or influence public opinion.

These annual awards are divided into four categories. The first three recognize particularly significant actions for the conservation and protection of habitats, species or ecosystems in Spain, Latin America and any country in the world respectively. The fourth category recognizes the Spanish-language dissemination of environmental knowledge to society at large and the building of social awareness on the importance of nature conservation, and is made up of two awards: one specific to audiovisual media and the other for remaining formats.

In their opening editions, the awards included a category for world-class scientific research in ecology and conservation biology. In 2008, however, this research modality was integrated within the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, taking its place alongside other scientific and artistic disciplines such as basic sciences, biology and biomedicine, information and communication technologies, and music. The BBVA Foundation accordingly recognizes the contributions of those striving to protect our planet’s natural heritage across the spectrum of activities from research through to projects and communication.

The awards for actions in Spain, Latin America and worldwide each come with a cash prize of 250,000 euros, while each of the two awards in the communication category is funded with 80,000 euros, giving a combined amount that is among the largest of any international prize scheme in the realm of the environment. These funds have allowed the winning individuals and organizations to continue or, at times, expand their programs and projects in defense of biodiversity, enabling them to plan ahead and introduce innovations and upgrades, building on their already solid records of achievement.

In their first twenty editions, the Biodiversity Conservation Awards have found their way to a diverse set of organizations that have taken effective steps to protect nature, based on sound science. These range from major ecologist groups, like WWF and SEO/Birdlife, to Spanish public agencies undertaking vital tasks for the protection of nature, like environmental police force SEPRONA or the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, by way of associations concerned with the conservation of species and their ecosystems, like the brown bear, the bearded vulture, the Iberian lynx, the imperial eagle or sea turtles in Spain; the monarch butterfly, bats, amphibians or the southern right whale in Latin America; and the snow leopard in Asia, elephants, lions and other large mammals in Africa or the orangutans of Indonesia in the worldwide category of the awards.

At the same time, the BBVA Foundation awards have recognized the vital role of environmental communicators in keeping conservation issues at the forefront of the news agenda, distinguishing media journalists and other communicators that have disseminated knowledge of the natural world through multiple channels and formats, from illustration and photography to audio recordings and documentary films.

Together, laureates form a mosaic that reflects the complex, multi-faceted nature of the global biodiversity crisis; one whose solution will demand an array of strategies acting on different levels and a sustained commitment over time in order to achieve meaningful results in nature conservation.

We stand at a historic crossroads, facing the risk that environmental degradation and the “sixth mass extinction” could impair the habitability of our planet. In light of such challenges, these awards serve not only as a window for society to learn about laureates’ work in furthering biodiversity conservation, but also as a motivational and development lever for their subsequent endeavors, facilitating an effort that is vital to confront the environmental challenges of our time.