The Rufford Foundation

Saving the Sloth Bear: The Path Towards Coexistence 🐻 October 12 marked World Sloth Bear Day, established to raise awareness about the conservation of sloth bears, whose populations are rapidly declining due to habitat loss and human–wildlife conflict. Nishith Dharaiya has been raising awareness of this species and its conservation since 2008. 🔗 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eVr-JrA4 Centre for Wildlife and Conservation Studies

The Coffee Cure: Rescuing Native Plants in the Western Ghats 🌱 The Western Ghats’ native plants are slowly degrading. Anand Osuri and his team at Nature Conservation Foundation are fighting back – with coffee. 🔗 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/e3V_hJxp 📷 Photos (L–R): Seedlings of multiple native tree species, rescued from coffee agroforests prior to replanting at a restoration nursery. © Vijay Kumar. Seeds of multiple native tree species, rescued from coffee agroforests prior to sowing at a restoration nursery. © Vijay Kumar. Shade coffee agroforests and pockets of remnant natural forest form a dense and continuous tree canopy in the Chikmagalur region of the Western Ghats, India. © Anand Osuri. Anand Osuri collecting native tree seeds for rainforest restoration nurseries from the edge of a coffee agroforest in the Western Ghats, India. © Vijay Kumar. Sohan Shetty Chandini D P #NatureConservation #PlantConservation #ForestConservation #PlantRestoration #RuffordSmallGrants #RuffordProjects #ConservationFunding #ConservationGrants #Biodiversity

A message for aspiring conservationists… 🪶 “Be bold and creative – don’t be afraid to take new approaches to solving problems” – Monica Torres. 🔗 Visit Mónica’s showcase for more tips, including three things she has learned while working in conservation: https://lnkd.in/eKK_Dtu4 --- 💰 Are you a student or early-career conservationist in need of funding? The Rufford Foundation offers small grants of £7,000–£18,000 for nature conservation projects worldwide. 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gSHu4h7C – applications are reviewed on a rolling basis! Video: © Mónica Torres / FUNDESGUA Fundación para las Especies Amenazadas de Guatemala -FUNDESGUA- #MeetMonicaTorres🦎 #RuffordShowcase✨ #MonicaTorres #ReptileConservation #LizardConservation #CampbellsAlligatorLizard #NatureConservation #WildlifeConservation #ConservationFunding #ConservationGrants 

In conservation, persistence is key 🗝️ When Monica Torres began working with Campbell’s alligator lizard, some people said it was a lost cause. She persevered and, in 2014, co-established the Foundation for the Endangered Species of Guatemala (FUNDESGUA) – an organisation that integrates research, education and habitat protection for biodiversity conservation. And what is the status of Campbell’s alligator lizard now? It is Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List but successful habitat restoration, conducted by Mónica and her team, has moved it further away from extinction – quite the result! 🦎 --- 💰 Are you a student or early-career conservationist in need of funding? The Rufford Foundation offers small grants of £7,000–£18,000 for nature conservation projects worldwide. 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gSHu4h7C – applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Photo: Liberating Abronia specimen with a community. © FUNDESGUA Fundación para las Especies Amenazadas de Guatemala -FUNDESGUA- #MeetMonicaTorres🦎 #RuffordShowcase✨ #MonicaTorres #ReptileConservation #LizardConservation #CampbellsAlligatorLizard #NatureConservation #WildlifeConservation #ConservationFunding #ConservationGrants

A fun update from the annual Conservation Management & Leadership (CML) training workshop in Bali, Indonesia 👏

Bringing a species back from the brink of extinction is no small feat 💪 But that's exactly what Monica Torres and her team at FUNDESGUA have achieved with Campbell’s alligator lizard in Guatemala. 📹 Watch Mónica’s full interview on our website: https://lnkd.in/eKK_Dtu4 Video thumbnail: Abronia campbelli specimen © FUNDESGUA. Video: © Mónica Torres / FUNDESGUA. Fundación para las Especies Amenazadas de Guatemala -FUNDESGUA- #MeetMonicaTorres🦎 #RuffordShowcase✨ #MonicaTorres #ReptileConservation #LizardConservation #CampbellsAlligatorLizard #RuffordGrantees #RuffordSmallGrants #RuffordProjects

Restoring Hope with Habitats 🌿 Meet Monica Torres. Together with her team at Fundación para las Especies Amenazadas de Guatemala -FUNDESGUA-, she has successfully restored over 155.8 hectares of habitat and 162,000 trees – crucial to the survival of Campbell’s alligator lizard (Abronia campbelli) in Guatemala. 🔗 Visit Mónica’s showcase to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eKK_Dtu4  --- 💰 Are you a student or early-career conservationist? The Rufford Foundation offers small grants of £7,000–£18,000 for nature conservation projects worldwide. 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gSHu4h7C Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis! #MeetMonicaTorres🦎 #RuffordShowcase✨ #MonicaTorres #ReptileConservation #LizardConservation #CampbellsAlligatorLizard #NatureConservation #WildlifeConservation #ConservationFunding #ConservationGrants

Congratulations to the winners of The Iris Prize 2025! 🎉

"People told me communities would never protect a species they fear, yet they became allies." – Mónica Torres. 🦎 In the first of a series of grantee interviews, we asked conservationist Monica Torres about her experience protecting Guatemala’s critically endangered reptiles. Since her first encounter with Campbell’s alligator lizard in 2009 – a transformative moment that sparked the beginning of her conservation journey – much of Mónica’s work has been dedicated to conserving the species and restoring its habitat. In 2014, she co-founded the Foundation for the Endangered Species of Guatemala (FUNDESGUA) (Fundación para las Especies Amenazadas de Guatemala -FUNDESGUA-). Mónica’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. She has won several awards, including the Disney Conservation Hero Award (2013) and Future for Nature Award (2021). She has also received three Rufford Small Grants (2020, 2022, 2024). 📹 Watch the full interview: https://lnkd.in/eKK_Dtu4 Video: © Mónica Torres / FUNDESGUA. #MeetMonicaTorres🦎 #RuffordShowcase✨ #MonicaTorres #ReptileConservation #LizardConservation #Campbellsalligatorlizard #RuffordGrantees #RuffordSmallGrants #RuffordProjects

💫 New grantee projects in August In August, 23 new projects were added to the Rufford website – including two Completion Grants studying tortoises (Ghana) and pangolins (Benin). Across the rest of the African continent, there are projects researching chameleons (Tanzania), fish (Cameroon), insects (Nigeria) and water lilies (Rwanda). Central and South American grantees are working to conserve deer (Belize), turtles (Chile), capuchins (Paraguay), bats (Mexico), frogs (Colombia), marine megafauna (Peru), insects (Argentina) and threatened vertebrates (Brazil). Meanwhile, in Asia, wild cats (Nepal) and dolphins (Vietnam) are the focus of conservation efforts. 🔎 Discover these projects and more: https://lnkd.in/enYDxwsb Don’t forget to keep an eye on the project pages to see how they’re progressing – just scroll down to the “Project Updates” section. 🎉 Featured Grantees: Eva Ayaro · Eric Joselly Kouedeum Kueppo · Aurora Anahi Maguiña Silva · Aldair Barros Granados · Yoalli Zúñiga Solís · Vo Hoang Khoa · Stanislas Zanvo · Silvina Anahí Belliard · Rodolfo Assis Magalhães · Rocio Álvarez Varas · Rebecca Smith · Pascal Sibomana · Ohene Adomako · Ojonugwa Ekpah · Gyajo Lama · John Tzib --- 💰 Are you a student or early-career conservationist in need of funding? The Rufford Foundation offers small grants of £7,000 to £18,000 for nature conservation projects around the world. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/gSHu4h7C #NatureConservation #WildlifeConservation #ConservationFunding #ConservationGrants #GrassrootsConservation #Biodiversity #RuffordSmallGrants #RuffordProjects