To celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity—along with our grantees and the biodiversity they work to protect—we recently held our fourth annual photo contest. Congratulations to the contest winners, and thank you to the CEPF grantees worldwide who participated. Visit our Facebook page to see all of the entries.  

First-Place Winner

In the Madagascar and Indian Ocean Island Hotspot, Mauritius Wildlife Foundation’s CEPF-funded project is working to re-establish or strengthen populations of three Endangered Mauritian birds—Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus), echo parakeet (Psittacula eques) and pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri)—on private estates. 

The organization’s winning image shows two Mauritian Wildlife Foundation field staff moving a young hand-reared kestrel from its carry box to a release box from which the bird will fledge and then join the wild population.

“Active conservation management implemented by extremely dedicated scientists brought the Mauritius kestrel from the brink of extinction in the late 1970s to a healthy population of 500 individuals today,” said CEPF Executive Director Olivier Langrand. “This photo illustrates perfectly this conservation success, which continues to be sustained by civil society actors and government alike.”

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Credit: 

© IDEP Foundation/ Image by Gede Sugiarta ​

People’s Choice Award

As part of their CEPF-funded project in the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot, IDEP Foundation is working to increase awareness about conservation issues among children who live in Indonesia’s Talaud Islands. 

This image, of children from the nearby island Bali, was taken for an educational media poster that reads “Forest habitats belong to the children. Protecting wildlife and nature is for our future.”

The photo was chosen by the public on CEPF’s Facebook page. Read our recent article​ about IDEP’s project.  ​​​

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