Two BirdLife Partners awarded Conservation’s ‘Green Oscars’
Parveen Shaikh (India, Bombay Natural History Society) and Paola Sangolquí (Ecuador, Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco) have both received the Whitley Award in recognition of their on-the-ground work to protect threatened species and their habitats.
Along a wide sandy riverbank, small black-and-white birds press themselves gently into the ground. There, exposed to the open sky, they lay their eggs – protected only by camouflage and instinct – while not far away, free-ranging dogs move along the shore, searching for an easy meal. What they don’t see is something just as powerful: a community keeping watch.
This is where Parveen Shaikh has focused her work to protect the Endangered Indian Skimmer, a species that depends on these fragile sandbanks to survive. Her efforts, alongside local communities and the Bombay Natural History Society, have helped turn a story of decline into one of recovery – earning her a 2026 Whitley Award.
While working along the Chambal River, Parveen witnessed how subtle changes can reshape entire ecosystems. The water remained clear, yet upstream dams began to alter its flow, and seasonal drops in water levels slowly erased the natural barriers that once protected nesting sites. What had once been safe, isolated ground became accessible to predators, livestock and humans. Entire colonies of breeding birds became vulnerable to disturbance.
“Seeing small successes, such as a protected nest or a chick taking its first flight reminds me that consistent effort can create real change.”
In response, Parveen worked with local communities to establish a nest guardian programme – simple in concept, but transformative in practice. During the breeding season, trained community members take turns monitoring nesting areas, deterring threats and tracking changes in water levels. Their presence has become a quiet but constant line of defence, one that is already showing results: since 2017, the population along the Chambal River has grown from around 400 individuals to nearly 1,000, a significant milestone for a species whose global population remains under pressure.
Beneath the surface: conservation beyond protected areas
Thousands of kilometres away, in the volcanic highlands of the Galápagos, another story unfolds – not along a riverbank, but beneath the soil. There, hidden within farmlands on Santa Cruz Island, the Galápagos Petrel returns each year to nest in silence, spending most of its life at sea before coming back to fragile burrows carved into the sand.
For Paola Sangolquí, protecting these hidden spaces has become a life’s work. As a marine conservation coordinator at Fundación Jocotoco, she is leading efforts that shift the focus of conservation beyond the boundaries of protected areas, working directly with farmers, landowners, and local communities. It is an approach rooted in the understanding that conservation does not stop at park borders, but continues across the landscapes where people live and work.
“As awareness has grown, local communities and landowners hosting nests have begun to see the petrel as a symbol of shared responsibility… every time, I see a chick successfully fledge, I am reminded why we do this work, it is about giving a species a real chance to tell its story.”
Here, the pressures take a different form. Invasive species such as rats and feral cats, alongside agricultural expansion, have reshaped the terrain, reducing the safe spaces where petrels can breed. Many of these nests remained undocumented for years, hidden in plain sight until careful fieldwork – carried out in coordination with the Galápagos National Park Directorate – began to reveal their presence. From there, the work unfolds steadily: protecting burrows, monitoring activity, controlling predators, and building trust with those who share the land.
As awareness grows, so does a sense of connection. Landowners begin to see the bird not as something distant, but as part of their own territory – a species whose future is intertwined with their own. In that process, conservation becomes less about intervention and more about joint responsibility.
A shared horizon
Though separated by distance, species, and landscapes, both stories are shaped by a common thread: conservation that begins from within the territory. Whether along the shifting edges of a river or beneath the soil of an island, these efforts are sustained by people who choose to stay, to observe, and to care.
In that decision – quiet, constant, and collective – lies the possibility of recovery.
Congratulations from the entire BirdLife flock to Parveen and Paola!
Header Image: Reviewing camera trap footage in the Galápagos Islands © Bryan Pérez Saltos.
