The IUCN WCPA Fred M. Packard Award is an international merit award which is made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to individuals or groups in recognition of "outstanding service to protected and conserved areas" across the globe. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The award is named for the individual who served as the Secretary to the World Commission on Protected Areas in the early 1970s. Packard initially established the award in recognition of the "valour" of field wardens fighting and at times losing their lives to poachers in the course of conservation work, mostly in the developing world. At the third World National Parks Congress in Bali, 1982 the award was expanded to include people and organisations who have "contributed to protected areas far above and beyond the call of duty". [7]
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protected and owned by a government. Although governments hold different standards for national park designation, the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride is a common motivation for the continued protection of all national parks around the world. National parks are almost always accessible to the public. Usually national parks are developed, owned and managed by national governments, though in some countries with federal or devolved forms of government, "national parks" may be the responsibility of subnational, regional, or local authorities.
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources is limited.
Wilderness or wildlands are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally referred to terrestrial environments, though growing attention is being placed on marine wilderness. Recent maps of wilderness suggest it covers roughly one-quarter of Earth's terrestrial surface, but is being rapidly degraded by human activity. Even less wilderness remains in the ocean, with only 13.2% free from intense human activity.
Corroboree frogs comprise two species of frog native to the Southern Tablelands of Australia. Both species are small, poisonous ground-dwelling frogs. The two species are the southern corroboree frog and the northern corroboree frog. They are unique among frogs in that they produce their own poison rather than obtain it from their food source as is the case in every other poisonous frog species.
Myles Dunphy and Milo Dunphy were Australian conservationists who played an important role in creating the Australian wilderness movement.
Romulus Earl Whitaker is an American-born Indian herpetologist, wildlife conservationist, and founder of the Madras Snake Park, the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET), and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. In 2008, Whitaker was selected as an associate laureate in the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise for his efforts to create a network of rainforest research stations throughout India. In 2005, he was a winner of a Whitley Award for outstanding leadership in nature conservation. He used this award to found the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station in Karnataka, for the study of king cobras and their habitat.
Aila Inkeri Keto AO is an Australian environmentalist. She is the founder and President of the Rainforest Conservation Society in Queensland, Australia, now known as the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society. In 2005, Keto was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.
Ernesto Christian Enkerlin Hoeflich is the Director of Conservation and Sustainability at Parque Fundidora. A prominent Mexican conservationist, environmentalist and researcher, he specializes in parrots' ecology, environmental policy, sustainability and biodiversity stewardship.
Harvey Locke is a Canadian conservationist, writer, and photographer. He is a recognized global leader in the field of parks, wilderness, wildlife and large landscape conservation. He is a founder of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, with the goal to create a continuous corridor for wildlife from Yellowstone National Park in the United States to the Yukon in Northern Canada. In 2017, Locke was appointed chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force, with the goal of ensuring the new global conservation targets set at the next Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2020 are meaningful for achieving the conservation of nature and halting of biodiversity loss.
Panthera Corporation, or Panthera, is a charitable organization devoted to preserving wild cats and their ecosystems around the globe. Founded in 2006, Panthera is devoted to the conservation of the world’s 40 species of wild cats and the vast ecosystems they inhabit. Their team of biologists, data scientists, law enforcement experts and wild cat advocates studies and protects the seven species of big cats: cheetahs, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, snow leopards and tigers. Panthera also creates targeted conservation strategies for the world’s most threatened and overlooked small cats, such as fishing cats, ocelots and Andean cats. The organization has offices in New York City and Europe, as well as offices in Mesoamerica, South America, Africa and Asia.
Fateh Singh Rathore was an Indian tiger conservationist. Fateh Singh joined the Indian Forest Service in 1960 and was part of the first Project Tiger team. He was widely acknowledged as the tiger guru for his legendary knowledge of the big cat. He worked over 50 years in wildlife conservation. Rathore was noted for his pioneering relocation of villages from inside the Ranthambhore National Park in 1973–75. Largely because of Mr. Rathore, "Ranthambhore became the place which brought the tiger to the consciousness of people the world over."
The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award honours the work of governments, organisations and individuals in promoting the wise use and conservation of wetlands.
Hemendra Singh Panwar is an Indian conservationist and civil servant, known for his efforts in the fields of wildlife and conservation. He was the first director of the Wildlife Institute of India and was the director of Project Tiger. The Government of India honoured him, in 2013, with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award, for his services to the environment and conservation.
Penelope Figgis is an Australian environmentalist, activist, and political scientist. Since 2005 she has been the Vice Chair for Oceania of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.
Julie E. Packard is an American ocean conservationist and philanthropist. She helped create the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the early 1980s and is its executive director, a position she has held since its opening in 1984. She speaks at conferences and symposia related to ocean conservation and writes online about current issues. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a recipient of the Audubon Medal.
Purnima Devi Barman is a wildlife biologist from Assam, India. She is known for her conservation work with the greater adjutant stork, known locally as the Hargila. She is the founder of the Hargila Army, an all-female conservation initiative. In 2017, Barman was the recipient of both the Whitley Award for her conservation efforts and the Nari Shakti Puraskar, the highest women-exclusive civilian award, presented by the President of India.
James Peter Stanton is an Australian landscape ecologist, fire ecologist, botanist and biogeographer who individually conducted systematic environmental resource surveys throughout Queensland whilst working for the National Parks department of Forestry (Qld.) from 1967–1974. He carried out his assessments in a range of dissimilar landscapes leading to the identification and protection of many critically threatened ecosystems across the state during a period of rapid and widespread land development under the Joh Bjelke-Petersen government. For this work he became the first Australian to receive the IUCN Fred M. Packard Award in 1982.
Lily Venizelos is a Greek conservationist.
Tiasa Adhya is an Indian conservationist and wildlife biologist. She monitors fishing cats and has received the Nari Shakti Puraskar.
Imogen Zethoven is an Australian environmental conservationist. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and has won international recognition for her conservation work.