Cambridge

MPhil in Conservation Leadership

To date, 243 students from 90 countries have completed the Cambridge MPhil in Conservation Leadership, a ground-breaking course established in 2010.

The course is delivered in a collaboration comprising six university departments & nine leading conservation organisations, including Fauna & Flora

Conservation Leadership Programme

Fauna & Flora is a founding member of the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), a partnership between Fauna & Flora, the Wildlife Conservation Society and BirdLife International. CLP was established in 1985 to direct funding and training to early career leaders from developing countries, who are tackling priority conservation challenges. Purnima, profiled below, is only one of the many people we supported through the remarkable Conservation Leadership Programme.

21 students from 19 countries successfully passed the course

During 2022 23 students from 18 countries successfully commenced their studies

During, 2022 CLP provided opportunities including:

10 internships of which five were led or supervised by our partners and Fauna & Flora

Dr Purnima Devi Barman, India, MSc three-time

23 teams of 92 conservationists received small grants

Seven training courses and workshops delivered to at least 114 individuals on topics including:

CConservation Management & Leadership, Project Planning & Fundraising, Building Leadership Capacity for Conservation and Writing for Conservation

Conservation Leadership Programme award-winner:

Dr Purnima Devi Barman, also known as the Stork Sister, is the driving force behind a 10,000-women strong ‘hargila army’ dedicated to protecting the endangered greater adjutant stork (or hargila bird) in India. Purnima received her first Conservation Leadership Programme award in 2009, and used this support to mobilise a group of women to change the fortunes of the endangered and unloved stork. With CLP support, Purnima’s ‘hargila army’ began protecting nesting sites, rehabilitating injured storks, and arranging ‘baby showers’ to celebrate the arrival of new chicks. As a result, this population of the greater adjutant stork is now the largest in the world, with the number of individuals surpassing 1,000. Nest counts have increased from 28 in 2010 to over 200 in the 2019-20 breeding season. Attitudes towards the species have shifted, with communities now taking pride in the fact that this rare and iconic species is in their own backyards.

Thirteen years after receiving her first CLP award, Purnima continues to deliver inspiring benefits for conservation and, in 2022, she was one of only five people to be announced as a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Champion of the Earth. This programme, the UN’s highest environmental honour, recognises those whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. When reflecting on the support she received from the Conservation Leadership Programme, Purnima recalls: “CLP nurtures conservationists during the early stages of their career to the point where their work is achieving real impact on the ground and recognition at a national and international level.”