Environmentalists from Ecuador and Cameroon Win 05 National Geographic/Buffett Award for Leadership in Conservation

WASHINGTON (June 8, 2015)-Conservationist M nica Gonz lez, who works to empower local residents in the Choco rain forests of northwestern Ecuador to slow and reverse the tide of habitat and species loss in the tropical Andes, is the 2015 winner of the National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in Latin American Conservation. Ornithologist and conservationist Roger Fotso, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Cameroon country program - one of the most effective field conservation programs in the country - is this year's recipient of the National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in African Conservation.

Dr. Gonz lez and Dr. Fotso will receive their $25,000 awards at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 11, during National Geographic's annual Explorers Week, when National Geographic explorers, grantees and others affiliated with the Society gather to share findings from their research and fieldwork and take part in panel discussions.

Established through a gift from The Howard G. Buffett Foundation in 2002 to celebrate and recognize unsung conservation heroes working in the field, the National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in Conservation is given each year to two outstanding conservationists, one in Latin America and one in Africa. The award acknowledges the winners' remarkable work and lifetime contributions that further the understanding and practice of conservation in their countries.

It is an honor to participate with National Geographic in recognizing the achievements of these two remarkable visionaries who are making such a positive difference to conservation in their countries. Both are inspirational mentors and role models to their communities, said Howard G. Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of The Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Dr. M nica Gonz lez, executive director of Fundaci n para la Conservaci n de los Andes Tropicales (Foundation for the Conservation of the Tropical Andes) (FCAT), began working in the 1990s with communities living near the Mache Chindul Reserve in northeast Ecuador, a biodiverse tropical rain forest region. The heavily populated area offers few financial opportunities, thus people rely heavily on exploiting natural resources. Gonz lez focused her efforts on finding financial support to develop environmental education programs in the villages around the reserve. She traveled long distances through difficult terrain to reach the most isolated communities. Several times she was injured getting to these areas: Once, a mule kicked her, breaking her leg; another time, she broke her arm falling off a horse. But the enthusiasm of the people and their desire to learn kept her going back.

In 2011, she created FCAT to implement on-the-ground conservation measures. The organization focuses on scientific research, environmental education, community development, capacity building and the empowerment of local leaders. The imminent construction of a highway crossing the reserve is of great concern to the communities. Although the reserve is a protected area, much of it is composed of private fragmented patches of forest that vary from 2 to 200 hectares. A new highway will bring an increase in logging and settlers. Because of this, Gonz lez and her team have spent the last year documenting the diversity of birds, amphibians, orchids, bees, beetles and soil microbes in 23 forest fragments. The project is also implementing reforestation to link priority forest fragments and is promoting ecotourism by fragment owners to bring financial benefits to the local communities. So far, more than 12,000 hardwood tree species have been planted and ecotourism projects are underway at six priority fragments.

After years of working in the area, Gonz lez has witnessed changes in the communities' management of water and soil, a decrease in the use of pesticides, and coordinated communal ways of managing trash that used to contaminate the rivers and watersheds. One of her success stories is the awareness she has brought to the plight of the threatened long-wattled umbrella bird, which is disappearing as the forest becomes more fragmented. With the trust and cooperation of local communities, Gonz lez has made important steps toward protecting the species, which is now a symbol for conservation among the local people.

Although the challenges faced at the Mache Chindul are huge, Gonz lez stays optimistic as she witnesses the local residents' commitment to protecting the area's natural resources.

Dr. Roger Fotso was born and raised in rural Cameroon and became passionate about nature at an early age. He obtained a Ph.D. in zoology from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium in 1994, one of the first Central African conservationists to obtain such a qualification.

His first conservation work was interning on the Kilum Ijim Montane forest project by BirdLife International in 1990-91. He worked with local communities to protect the Oku forest in western Cameroon, one of the last remaining patches of montane forest in western central Africa and home to many endemic species of plants, amphibians, rodents and birds. He then joined the European Union's Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (ECOFAC) program, serving for two years as director of research for the Dja Wildlife Reserve in southern Cameroon. From 1995 to 1998, he led a biodiversity priority-setting exercise for Cameroon using birds as indicator species. The project identified Cameroon's Important Bird Areas and served as a basis for the Cameroon National Biodiversity Action Plan.

Fotso has been the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Cameroon country program since 1998, building it into arguably the most effective conservation program in the country. Fotso has been involved in many

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