Nikolai Petkov Wins Whitley Award

Bonn, 3 May 2019 - Dr. Nikolai Petkov of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) is one of this year’s winners of the prestigious awards granted by the Whitley Fund for Nature to local conservation leaders.

Also called ‘Green Oscars’, these high-profile awards provide various types of grants to enable conservationists to scale up their vital work and make a real and measurable difference to wildlife and local communities. Nicky is well known in AEWA circles and serves as the International Coordinator of the AEWA Red-breasted Goose International Working Group.  He was involved in the Wings over Wetlands project helping develop the Critical Site Network Tool.  He is also a member of the Threatened Waterfowl Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Nicky is currently coordinating a flyway conservation project for the Red-breasted Goose on behalf of BSPB.  The project is being funded by the EU LIFE programme and involves partners from Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Romania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

More information on Nicky’s long-term commitment to Red-breasted Geese and his work to protect the coastal lakes of Shabla and Durankulak near the Black Sea in Bulgaria can be found on the Whitley Awards website.

The AEWA Secretariat would like to extend its heart-felt congratulations to Nicky for this well-deserved recognition of his hard work!