The J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership has been awarded annually since 2006 in recognition of outstanding leadership in global conservation. The award aims to acknowledge individuals making "pioneering and substantial" contributions to conservation as well as foster the development of future leaders in conservation. The $200,000 cash award goes to fund graduate fellowships for students in conservation-related fields. These fellowships are established at the institution of higher learning of the awardee's choice and named in honor of the award recipient and
J. Paul Getty
Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pi ...
.
Currently, the award is administered by the
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
on behalf of the Getty family. Conservation organizations worldwide submit nominations to the WWF and winners are selected by an impartial panel of judges from the conservation community. The Getty Award recognizes achievement in three annually rotating categories: political leadership in conservation (2006), leadership in conservation science (2007), and community leadership in conservation (2008). The 2009 Getty Award will mark begin the second rotation by again recognizing outstanding achievement in political conservation leadership.
History
The prize was first instituted by philanthropist and businessman
J. Paul Getty
Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pi ...
in 1974 as the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize. Initially, the prize had the broad aim to recognize "outstanding contributions to international conservation" but was renamed in 2004 to reflect a restructuring of the award to "give it greater focus and strengthen its impact on conservation."
/sup>[ (updated only till 2003)][World Wildlife Fund's Prestigious Getty Award Given to India's Leading Expert on Tiger Conservation]
/ref> The newly established J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership was awarded for the first time in 2006.
In 1983 the Wildlife Conservation Prize was presented to the awardees by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. According to Russell E. Train
Russell Errol Train (June 4, 1920 – September 17, 2012) was the second administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from September 1973 to January 1977 and the founder chairman emeritus of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). As the seco ...
, the president of the World Wildlife Fund in the United States at the time, Reagan referred to the Getty Award as the "Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
for conservation."
Recipients
''J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership'' recipients (2008-2006) /sup>
''J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize'' recipients (2003-1974)
Brief Awardee Biographies
*Salim Ali (1975)
**Salim Ali, referred to as the "Birdman of India", became the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrote several bird books that popularized ornithology in India.
*Dr. K. Ullas Karanth (2007)
**Dr. Karanth has done pioneering work on tiger and other carnivore conservation across India, particularly in the Nagarhole
Nagarahole National Park is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka, India.
This park was declared the 37th Tiger Reserve of India in 1999. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats N ...
wildlife sanctuary. He is also seen as the motivating spirit behind the creation of three protected areas in the Western Ghats forest of Southeastern India. The money will go towards funding graduate research at the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
.
See also
* List of environmental awards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:J. Paul Getty Award For Conservation Leadership
Environmental awards
Awards established in 1974