This year the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) celebrates 30 years of building capacity and supporting threatened species conservation. A collaborative partnership between BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International and the Wildlife Conservation Society, the programme is recognized for identifying exceptional young conservationists, investing in their professional development, and providing a platform from which they become leaders.
When it was launched in 1985 as the Conservation Expedition Awards, the primary objective was to fund British university students to collect baseline data on threatened species. These grants have grown into what are now known as CLP Conservation Awards, with three stages of support. The focus has also shifted to support nationals living and working in lesser-developed countries, with the intention to build a cadre of local conservation leaders. Funding is initially awarded to advance small-scale conservation and research projects, and continuation funding helps teams establish longer-term initiatives with the potential to offer more sustainable solutions to conservation issues.
The Programme's investment is complemented by support for professional development, including short-term training courses and internship placements with the CLP partner organizations, as well as travel grants and networking and mentoring opportunities for CLP alumni. Projects have had significant impacts and been recognized for their contribution to biodiversity conservation by governments, the scientific community and conservation practitioners. Highlights of the Programme include the following examples:
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• In 1988 a team was funded to survey the avifauna of Gola Forest, the largest area of intact lowland rain forest in Sierra Leone. The project led to a partnership agreement with the forest department, the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. In 2011 the government of Sierra Leone declared this area the Gola Rainforest National Park.
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• In 1996 activities initiated under Project Swallow Reef later resulted in the establishment of a permanent marine research and monitoring station on Layang Layang, supporting the conservation of one of the most biodiverse coral reefs in Malaysia.
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• In 2009 a 3,000 ha nature reserve was established in Guangxi province, China, to conserve the world's rarest primate, the Critically Endangered cao-vit gibbon Nomascus nasutus, and its habitat, as a result of a CLP-funded project.
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• Following initial sighting of a new primate species in Brazil, a team funded by CLP collected data that led to the description of a new species of Titi monkey Callicebus miltoni in 2015.
With the support of Oryx—The International Journal of Conservation, CLP also runs a week-long workshop to encourage alumni to publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals. In February 2015 CLP ran its 6th Writing for Conservation workshop, for 20 participants from Indonesia. Approximately 100 CLP alumni have now taken this training since 2008, resulting in publication of articles in a range of peer-reviewed journals.
The legacy of the Programme spans 4 decades. In April 2015 the Programme announced its latest Conservation Award winners, with a total of USD 300,000 granted to 22 projects in 12 countries. Results from CLP projects are published in project reports and are freely accessible via the CLP website. Further information can be found at http://www.conservationleadershipprogramme.org
