Hawkwatch International

In September 2020, we announced a new HWI-funded grant initiative to invest in projects addressing global raptor research and conservation priorities. We set out to invest in projects led by citizens of the Global South, with the aim of increasing diversity and inclusivity, all while building local capacity for conservation. In this strange new world, as we grapple with the imminent challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and the long-term challenges of global climate change, we feel that it is ever more pressing to invest directly in projects and people from local communities to achieve conservation outcomes. The deadline for the first round of applications was December 31, 2020. We are encouraged by the interest in this grant initiative as exemplified by the quality and breadth of applications we received. In total, we received 54 applications totaling nearly $133,000 in funding requests from 30 countries across South America, Africa, and South Asia. Proposed projects aimed to target actions on many Endangered and Critically Endangered species, such as the Madagascar Fish-eagle and Forest Owlet, and some species with only very scant scientific information available, such as the Congo Bay Owl and Flores Hawk Eagle. The review panel, composed of five HWI science staff, took great care reviewing and rating the proposals over the past month. We evaluated proposals based on the scientific rigor, conservation impact, and contribution to local capacity development of each proposal. We are now very excited to announce the inaugural winners of the Global Raptor Research and Conservation Grant! These grants were funded by HWI, with support from our donors and members, including a generous donation by the Circle of Life Fund. If you are interested in supporting this initiative, please contact HWI’s Development Director, Kirsten Elliott at kelliott@hawkwatch.org. Grant Recipients Veronica Dandzo-Adzagudu is a Project Officer at the Institute of Environmental Nature Conservation, an NGO based in Ghana. She was awarded $2,500 for her project “Population assessment and conservation of the Critically Endangered Ruppell’s Vulture in Mole National Park and fringe communities, Ghana.” Veronica’s exciting project will aim to establish a population estimate for the Ruppell’s Vulture in northern Ghana while identifying important breeding and foraging habitat for the species, and assessing local community knowledge on the species and potential threats. Himani Singh Khati is a Project Manager for the Himalayan Institute for Sustainable Environment & Research Society, based in Uttarakhand, India. She was awarded $2,500 for her project “Conservation of Critically Endangered Red-headed Vultures in Uttarakhand, India.” Himani’s excellent proposal focuses on doing regular monitoring of the Red-headed Vulture in an area where there is a significant, but highly threatened population of this species. She will also work with local communities to identify perceptions of and threats to vultures in the region while doing education and outreach to mitigate threats, particularly electrocutions on powerlines. Ana María Morales Cañizares is a Wildlife Biologist at Fundación Aguilas de los Andes in Colombia. She was awarded $2,457 for her project “Monitoring the Diet of the Black-and-chestnut Eagle (Spizaetus isidori) in western Antioquia, Colombia”. Ana’s impactful project aims to install cameras in the nest of an Endangered Black-and-chestnut Eagle, in order to identify whether domestic animals make up a significant portion of its diet. This information will be critical for developing conservation plans for the species, which is currently persecuted by humans as it is thought to feed extensively on domestic chickens. We are beyond excited by the diversity and quality of HWI’s inaugural Global Raptor Research and Conservation Grant applicants. We wish the awardees great success in their endeavors, and we look forward to reporting progress updates on these projects in the months to come. Here’s to preserving raptors and our shared global environment! For more details and to apply for the annual Global Raptor Research and Conservation Grant, please visit our website here. We will announce application deadlines for the 2021 grant cycle later this year. Questions about the grant can be directed to conservation.grant@hawkwatch.org.