AWF Selects the 2010-11 Charlotte Conservation Fellows

NAIROBI -- The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is pleased to announce it has selected its 2010-11 class of Charlotte Conservation Fellows, five emerging scholars who all come from and work in Africa.

Founded in 1996 in honor of the late conservationist Charlotte Kidder Ramsay, the Fellowship program helps emerging African scholars pursue advanced studies in conservation-related fields. While expenses and materials vary according to the recipient, scholarships are awarded for amounts of up to $25,000. Since its inception, the Charlotte Fellows program has helped scores of students from East, West, Central, and southern Africa.

AWF congratulates its five new Charlotte Fellows, who underwent a rigorous application process and were selected for their strong accomplishments and outstanding commitment to conservation in Africa.

AWF Charlotte Fellows: 2010-2011

Susan Siamundele, from Zambia, is pursuing a Master's of Science in Natural Resources and Peace at the United Nations Mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. Siamundele started her career with the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) in 2002 as a park ranger in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. She has also served in the same capacity at Lower Zambezi National Park and is currently the park ranger at Lusaka National Park, where she participates in the planning and development of the park, including conducting awareness programs for communities and managing wildlife in the park.

Through her studies, Siamundele will focus on contributing to the enhancement of biodiversity for global support systems and the identification and mitigation of conflicts that arise from development initiatives, natural resource management, and environmental issues. She is also interested in issues related to participatory natural resource management outside protected areas with an emphasis on resource tenure rights.

Edward Amum Didigo, from southern Sudan, is pursuing a master's degree in Wildlife Management at Moi University in Kenya. Currently a wildlife officer and researcher at the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism in Juba, Didigo has worked previously as a fisheries officer in the Nile State and also contributed to bushmeat investigations in Jonglie State.

The objective of Didigo's study is to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of anti-poaching mechanisms and the participation of the community in conservation, in relation to their impact on reducing poaching activities in Fanyikang Game Reserve. He is also interested in strengthening community awareness of the value of wildlife.

Lawandi Kanembou, from Niger, is pursuing a doctoral degree in Geography at the Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey in Niger. Kanembou has participated in the development of the management plan for Parc National du W du Niger and in the conservation and restoration of soils for the Environment Secretariat in Niger. He has also participated in the mapping of land use and management of agro-sylvo pastoral resources in rural townships in the Gabi Mayaki region of Niger.

Kanembou's studies focus on investigating the eco-tourism potential in Niger with the specific objective of generating a database on landscape units in the Sahel--Saharian region and on proposing a management plan for the region.

Medupi Shabanga, from South Africa, is pursuing a master's degree in Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town. Shabanga has worked with AWF as a community development officer facilitating community-based natural resource management projects with communities around Kruger National Park in South Africa. He has also facilitated the identification of conservation enterprise opportunities in the park.

Shabanga's studies focus on exploring the potential of transformative community conservation in the land reform and land restitution program in Kruger National Park and how it can enhance the virtues of conservation and community empowerment through public-private partnerships. He is also interested in investigating the interface of land restitution and bio-conservation discourse and how it can enhance conservation outcomes in the Limpopo region.

Florentin Wendkuuni Compaore, from Burkina Faso, is pursuing a master's in Environmental Risk Management at the University of Ouagadougou. He works with the National Public Health Laboratory as a senior technician in quality analysis.

Compaore's studies focus on renewable energies and the techniques of "clean production" in the regeneration of ecosystems in the fragile rural dry lands in Burkina Faso - with the aim of helping to reduce deforestation, abusive hunting practices, and poaching.

AWF, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has supported education and training initiatives in Africa since 1961. You can help us continue these efforts by supporting the Charlotte Fellows program and future graduate studies in conservation.