KATHMANDU — Raju Acharya, a Nepali conservationist, has been namedof the six winners of this year’s prestigious Whitley Awards, also known as the “Green Oscars,” in recognition of his work protecting and campaigning for owls. Acharya, the third Nepali to win the award in as many years, is the founder and executive director of Friends of Nature, a Kathmandu-based NGO. The resident of Pokhara, a town in western Nepal, has campaigned for the conservation of the birds of prey for more than 15 years, despite facing numerous challenges, such as stereotypes of local people toward the raptors and their conservation. “In my society [the] owl is seen as a lazy and dull creature; when you advocate for their conservation, you are labeled the same way,” Acharya said, addressing the award ceremony. “When I was chosen to represent the World Owl Trust in Nepal, I received ironic congratulations from those around me. Despite the discouragement, I was determined to learn about owls,” said Acharya, also the brains behind the annual Owl Festival, one of the largest conservation events in Nepal. Raju Acharya in the remote field in Accham district, western Nepal. Image © Bikash Ghimire. According to the Whitley Fund for Nature, the U.K. nonprofit that administers the annual award, Acharya will use the prize money of 50,000 pounds ($62,600) to boost initiatives in central Nepal, home to 19 of the country’s 23 owl species. Acharya’s plan is to conduct training to increase the capacity of law enforcement agencies, policymakers and…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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