ZIMBABWEAN CONSERVATIONIST WINS PRESTIGIOUS 2026 WHITLEY AWARD

Zimbabwean conservation zoologist Dr Moreangels Mbizah has added another prestigious accolade to her growing list of international honours after being named a recipient of the 2026 Whitley Award, one of the world’s most respected conservation prizes, often referred to as the “Green Oscars.”

Dr Mbizah, founder and Executive Director of the NGO Wildlife Conservation Action (WCA), was recognised by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature for her work developing a data-driven, community-centred coexistence model that allows lions to move safely between protected areas and surrounding community land in northern Zimbabwe. The award, presented at a ceremony held at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 29 April, comes with project funding to support the continued expansion of her work, and marks the first time a Zimbabwean has received the prestigious prize.

The project, active across roughly 2.6 million hectares in the low-lying Zambezi Valley, has already delivered striking results, reducing human-wildlife conflict incidents in some local wards by as much as 98 percent. Interventions led by WCA include predator-proof livestock enclosures, reinforced kraals, and solar-powered flashing lights designed to deter nocturnal lion raids on cattle and goats, protecting almost 18,000 livestock collectively worth an estimated US$2.3 million. Central to the programme is its Community Guardians initiative, which trains local men and women, known as “Batabilili,” to monitor lion activity, warn farmers of nearby predators, and help households implement protective measures.

With fewer than 19,000 to 20,000 lions estimated to remain in the wild across Africa, having lost around 90 percent of their historic range, Dr Mbizah’s model addresses one of the continent’s most pressing conservation challenges: sustaining viable lion populations in landscapes where wildlife and human settlement increasingly overlap. WCA currently operates across the districts of Binga, Nyaminyami and Mbire, and the Whitley Award funding will enable the organisation to expand into three additional wards within Mbire District, bringing its total coverage in the district to eight wards, while recruiting further Community Guardians to respond to conflict incidents.

Speaking after receiving the award, Dr Mbizah emphasised that effective conservation must address losses on both sides of the human-wildlife divide, stressing that coexistence efforts aim to protect both community livelihoods and lion populations simultaneously. She also spoke to the particular challenges faced by women working in conservation, a traditionally male-dominated field, while highlighting the role her programme has played in creating new opportunities and role models for young women in the communities where WCA operates.

With the funding secured through the award, Dr Mbizah and her team are targeting a long-term increase in the regional lion population of around 10 percent, aiming to grow numbers to approximately 660 individuals in the years ahead.