We are excited to announce that the winner of our 2026 Marion Paviour Award is Mohamedi Kidogo from Tanzania!
Mohamedi’s project title is: ‘Community Based in Conservation Of White-backed Vulture (Gyps Africanus) in the Selous-Niassa Transfrontier Conservation Area, Nanyumbu District, Tanzania.’
The Marion Paviour Award was named after our former chairperson and was established in her memory to support research into the conservation of birds of prey. It is aimed at early-career researchers working towards this goal. Mohamedi is the ninth award winner, and we are extremely proud to help new raptor biologists’ careers take off!
His project aims to document threats to White-backed Vulture populations in the Selous-Niassa Transfrontier Conservation Area and build the first community-based conservation network, including trained ‘Vulture Guardian Scouts’, empowered Village Natural Resource Committees, and the distribution of 1,200 Swahili-language leaflets to reduce poisoning, nest destruction and persecution in one of East Africa’s most critical and under-resourced raptor corridors.
The White-backed Vulture is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with populations declining rapidly across sub-Saharan Africa.
The Selous-Niassa Transfrontier Conservation Area, linking Tanzania’s UNESCO World Heritage Site Nyerere National Park with Mozambique’s Niassa Special Reserve, is one of the last intact wildlife corridors in East and Southern Africa, yet no active vulture conservation programme operates in the area. The IUCN identifies Nanyumbu District as a high-threat zone, while neighbouring Tunduru District has already lost its populations of the species.
Three key threats have been identified as drivers of local declines: (1) deliberate carcass poisoning by poachers to prevent circling vultures from alerting rangers to illegal kills; (2) illegal logging of Ficus trees, the species’ primary nesting and brooding sites; and (3) persecution fuelled by traditional beliefs that vulture head parts bring good luck. As the species forages widely beyond protected areas, community-led conservation could be essential to its survival. It is this element that Mohamedi’s project will primarily focus upon.
Mohamedi was delighted to be named our 2026 Marion Paviour Award winner and told us: “For me personally, this award is an important step in my career as a raptor conservationist in Tanzania. With the support of the Marion Paviour Award, I will start the first community-based conservation programme for the White-backed Vulture in the Selous-Niassa Transfrontier Conservation Area. Vultures here face poisoning, the cutting down of the Ficus trees they nest in, and persecution linked to traditional beliefs, yet no programme currently protects them in this landscape. Working with the District Wildlife Game Officer and Village Natural Resource Committees across 10 villages in Nanyumbu District, five of which will have intensive training, I will map threats to vultures, train Vulture Guardian Scouts and run community awareness meetings. My hope is that this project becomes a lasting foundation: local people leading vulture protection, with evidence that attracts long-term support.”
We look forward to seeing how his project progresses and sharing that with you. Congratulations again, Mohamedi!
