Land Rover joined wildlife conservation charity Tusk and its royal patron The Duke of Cambridge in honouring the best of up-and-coming conservationists in Africa.
The Tusk Conservation Awards, saw supporters including opera singer Katherine Jenkins, comedian Rory Bremner, Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden, actor and adventurer Charley Boorman and England rugby captain Chris Robshaw join the Duke of Cambridge to celebrate the achievements of conservationists in Africa with two unique awards, the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa and the Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa.
The Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa, sponsored by Land Rover, was presented by the Duke to Herizo Adrianandrasana for his exceptional commitment to conservation through his work in Madagascar. Herizo is a driving force behind the integration of local people into conservation management and monitoring in the country and leads programmes across seven globally important conservation areas, four forest and three wetland sites, with a combined surface area of 3,500 km2.
Herizo was applauded for his dedication and tenacity as an up-and-coming conservationist and awarded a grant of £15,000 to further develop their work.
Mark Cameron, Jaguar Land Rover Global Brand Experience Director, said: “We’re humbled to join the Duke of Cambridge and Tusk in giving these remarkable emerging conservationists the recognition they deserve and financial support to continue and develop the incredible work they are already doing in Africa. With shocking new statistics about the loss of our wildlife being released every day, it’s more important than ever that we all support the efforts of charities such as Tusk and we’re proud to be able to do so.”
Prior to the awards, hosted by Kate Silverton for the second year running, Land Rover ambassadors including Bear Grylls, Charley Boorman, polar explorer Ben Saunders and rugby star Will Greenwood showed their support for the Tusk Awards by wearing special bracelets made by the Mamas of the Enkiito Village in Kenya.
The Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa was awarded to Richard Bonham in recognition of his lifetime contribution to wildlife and the Maasai community in Kenya.
Land Rover’s collaboration with Tusk started 15 years ago, when they first supported the Lewa Marathon in Kenya. The Trust has also been supported with several Land Rover vehicles, which are in constant use supporting the Trusts work across Africa.