Three young conservationists were recently named winners of the 2025 Future For Nature (FFN) Awards for their initiatives to conserve amphibians, pangolins and Andean wildlife. The winners will each receive 50,000 euros ($54,000), FFN said in a statement. “Working in conservation can be tough,” Anthony Waddle, the winner from Australia, told Mongabay by email. “We have a job that requires consistent advocacy for ourselves, the species and ecosystems we are trying to protect, and the broader value of biodiversity for society. Winning this award means I have some stability in pursuing my conservation goals.” Waddle has devised strategies to protect Australia’s threatened frogs from the deadly chytrid fungus, which has wiped out some 90 amphibian species globally and caused declines in hundreds more. Believed to have originated on the Korean Peninsula, the fungus destroys amphibians’ skins, disrupting their ability to take in water and air. The fungus thrives in cooler temperatures but struggles to survive beyond 30° Celsius (86° Fahrenheit). So Waddle created simple “frog saunas” to help Australia’s frogs survive annual winter epidemics of chytrid. The saunas are inexpensive structures made of bricks and vegetable greenhouses, where the frogs “bake off the chytrid fungus,” Waddle said. Waddle has also helped develop promising vaccinations that could give frogs a long-term chance at fighting the fungus. He said he’ll use his prize money to implement both these strategies across Australia’s east coast. Ruthmery Pillco, founder of the NGO Peruvian Wildlife Conservation, focuses on restoring the habitats of two threatened Andean species:…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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