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AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award

 

Call for Nominations

AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award 2025

Following a decision of the AEWA Standing Committee, the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the 2025 round of the AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award.

To submit nominations, please fill in the standard nomination form available here.

The deadline for submission of nominations is 13 May 2025.

Before filling in and submitting the nomination form, please read the criteria and procedures below.

We look forward to receiving your nominations!

Criteria and Procedures

Categories

One AEWA Award shall be presented in each of the following categories:

a) The "Institutional Category" rewarding activities by governments, organisations, enterprises, etc. - including legislation, strategies, plans, programmes, projects, investments, and campaigns - that have significantly contributed, or have a clear potential to contribute, to (i) the development of the Agreement, (ii) the conservation of species, (iii) the conservation of their habitats, (iv) the management of human activities, (v) research and monitoring, and (vi) education and information.

b) The "Individual Category" rewarding activities by individuals that have significantly contributed, or have a clear potential to contribute, to (i) the development of the Agreement, (ii) the conservation of species, (iii) the conservation of their habitats, (iv) the management of human activities, (v) research and monitoring, and (vi) education and information.

Eligibility

Institutions and citizens of all nations are invited to nominate individuals or institutions - governmental and non-governmental, including community groups or private sector enterprises - of any country in the Agreement area for the respective award category.

Institutions and individuals not eligible for the award are as follows:

  • Institutions and organisations, including their staff, whose representatives are currently serving on the AEWA Standing Committee.
  • Institutions and organisations whose representatives are currently serving on the AEWA Technical Committee.
  • Persons currently serving on the AEWA Standing or Technical Committees.
  • Current UNEP/AEWA Secretariat staff.

Nominations Procedure

Nominations should be submitted to the AEWA Secretariat in English, using the standard AEWA Award Nomination Form, accompanied by all appropriate supporting documentation and references.

The closing date for nominations for this seventh round of the AEWA Award is 13 May 2025. This date shall be final.

Selection Procedure

The AEWA Secretariat shall collate and process the nominations received and submit them for the consideration of the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee shall select the winners. This decision shall be final.

The award in any of the categories cannot be shared and will be presented to one nominee only.

In the absence of a suitable candidate for any of the categories the AEWA Standing Committee reserves the right not to grant an award.

Announcement and Presentation of the Award

The announcement of the award winners on each occasion shall be made by a press release as soon as all winners have confirmed their acceptance of the award. The winners should be available to attend the presentation ceremony and make an address. For this purpose, they will be provided with economy travel and accommodation to attend the ceremony.

The AEWA Award will be presented at the opening ceremony of the 9th Session of the Meeting of the Parties on 10 November 2025.

Possible cash award

Please note that the next AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award will not be accompanied by a cash prize due to the lack of funding.

 

The nomination form is available here.

Deadline for submission of nominations is 13 May 2025.  Nominations received after this date will not be considered.

AEWA Conservation Award 2022

The AEWA Conservation Award in the individual category was presented to Hichem Azafzaf (Tunisia) in the presence of the Tunisian Ambassador to Hungary, while BirdLife South Africa was presented the award in the institutional category.

03 March 2025

AEWA Conservation Award 2018

At the opening ceremony of the 7th Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP7) taking place from 4-8 December 2018 in Durban, South Africa, the Nature Conservation Sector (NCS) of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, Ministry of Environment, was declared the winner of the AEWA Conservation Award in the institutional category, while Mr. Ohad Hatzofe, Avian Ecologist of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, had been declared the winner of the AEWA Conservation Award for the individual category.

03 March 2025

The 2015 AEWA Conservation Award Goes to...

The winners of the 2015 AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award are: l’Association Inter-Villageoise du Ndiaël (the inter-village association of the Ndiaël) in the institutional category and Abdoulaye N’Diaye in the individual category. The Association Inter-Villageoise du Ndiaël was established in 2004 and brings together 32 villages surrounding the special wildlife reserve of the Ndiaël. Based in Ross-Béthio, Senegal, it has 800 members and its main aim is to allow local communities to carry out activities that aim to restore the wildlife living in the reserve. With an area of 46,550 hectares, Ndiaël is a Ramsar site and a central hub of the transborder Senegal River Delta biosphere reserve. It has also been identified as a critical site for migratory waterbirds, in the framework of the Critical Sites Network (CSN) Tool.

30 May 2016

AEWA Conservation Award 2012

The winners of the 2012 AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award are…

The late Dr. Brooks Childress in the individual category and the International Wader Study Group in the institutional category are the winners of the 2012 AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award. This award, which recognizes contributions to the conservation, research and monitoring of migratory waterbirds, as well as support to the development of the Agreement, was presented at the opening ceremony of the 5th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA on 14 May 2012 in La Rochelle, France.

24 April 2015

AEWA Conservation Award 2008

The winners of the 2008 AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award are…

Mr Mark Anderson in the Individual Category and OMPO (Oiseaux Migrateurs du Paléarctique Occidental) in the Institutional Category were the winners of the 2008 AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award. The award, which recognizes contributions to the conservation, research and monitoring of migratory waterbirds, as well as support to the development of the Agreement, was presented at the opening ceremony of the 4th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA on 15 September 2008 in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

24 April 2015

AEWA Conservation Award 2005

The AEWA Award 2005 goes to…

Mr David A. Stroud in the Individual Category and the Government of the Netherlands, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) in the Institutional Category were the winners chosen to receive the AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award 2005, which was presented at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Session of the Meeting of the Parties on 23 October 2005 (Dakar, Senegal). The award is for their outstanding contributions to the development and implementation of the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, as decided by the Standing Committee at its meeting on 4-5 July 2005. In addition, Dr Gerard C. Boere was declared Honorary Patron of AEWA for his crucial role in the process of drafting and negotiating the Agreement.

16 April 2014