Rwanda’s Dr Olivier Nsengimana Wins 2025 Whitley Gold Award to Lead Protection for Grey Crowned Crane and its Wetland Habitat Across East Africa
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Words by Whitley Fund For Nature
Covered by Lucy Jane Morris
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First published 30th April at 8:00PM GMT
UK charity, the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), is recognising Dr Olivier Nsengimana with the 2025 Whitley Gold Award for his leadership in rebuilding the Grey Crowned Crane population in Rwanda and for an ambitious plan to secure protection across East Africa for the iconic bird and its wetland habitat.
“With one million species at risk of extinction, it is vital we find innovative ways to re-connect people with nature and co-create solutions to this crisis.”
The veterinarian and former Gorilla Doctor has overseen growth in the Grey Crowned Crane population to 1,293 from an estimated 300 in the wild since founding the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA), of which he is also chief executive officer, in 2015. RWCA’s expansion will be modelled on Rwanda's successful protection of mountain gorillas via transboundary cooperation.
In just one decade, RWCA has halted the illegal trade in cranes in Rwanda, where they were captured as pets and prized as symbols of wealth and longevity; collaborated cross-border with partners in Tanzania and Uganda to broaden protection for cranes; and expanded to become one of the country's biggest environmental NGOs, with a staff of 269.
Often called the "Land of a Thousand Hills," Rwanda is less known for its 860 wetlands, which are both nesting sites for the crane and play a critical role in climate mitigation - as carbon sinks, and by slowing floodwaters, protecting communities. With Gold Award funding, Olivier and his team will deepen transboundary ties with the hope of creating a political framework for wetland conservation with Tanzania and Uganda and take steps to expand to Burundi.
Charity Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, will present the Whitley Gold Award, the £100,000 top prize, on 30 April at the Royal Geographical Society. The event will also be livestreamed to YouTube.
Olivier took action to save his childhood "superhero" - which stands 1.2 metres tall with a wingspan of nearly 2 metres – after he moved to Kigali from rural Rwanda and found the crane close to extinction, languishing in urban gardens and hotels, sometimes injured and often unable to breed. He won a Whitley Award in 2018 for a successful campaign to rehabilitate the bird. In collaboration with the Rwandan government, RWCA was able to return every Grey Crowned Crane in captivity in Rwanda to the wild. The Grey Crowned Crane and the Black Crowned Crane are the only species of crane that roost in trees and mate for life.
Habitat loss is now the number one threat for the bird, despite its legal protection in Rwanda, and Uganda. Despite seeing an increase in numbers in Rwanda, Grey Crowned Crane populations are continuing to decline across Africa. Agricultural expansion in Rwanda, which has the densest human population in Africa, and one of the world's fastest growing economies, is creating competition with people for resources. Climate change and the illegal international pet trade are also threats.
“With one million species at risk of extinction, it is vital we find innovative ways to re-connect people with nature and co-create solutions to this crisis.”
Olivier and his team are stepping up efforts to protect Rugezi Marsh, a Ramsar site home to around one-quarter of Rwanda’s population of the bird. RWCA joined government efforts to retore the high-altitude marsh, more than 2000 metres above sea level, and recover from the degradation of the early 2000's when more than half of the marsh was destroyed by agricultural activities and overexploitation. Rugezi is also one of Rwanda's strategic water reserves, whose rivers feed into the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo which help to meet the growing demand for electricity from Rwanda's expanding population.
Wetlands, which globally are disappearing three times faster than forests, are the most threatened ecosystem on the planet. With the Whitley Gold Award, Olivier’s team will strengthen the trans-boundary collaboration with partners in Uganda, Tanzania, and Burundi through the successful model of "community conservation champions," who safeguard the crane populations and prevent overharvesting of water and grass at wetlands. It will also boost training for the 75 community rangers at Rugezi Marsh – one-third of whom are women - and increase awareness to promote the wise use of wetlands.
Rwanda has aspirations to become a middle-income country by 2035 and RWCA has tapped into the growing dynamism and pride in the environment - the country was one of the first in the world to ban single-use plastic bags – and revenues from tourism to see the country’s gorillas and natural resources - hit a record in 2023.
RWCA initiatives for communities living near Rugezi Marsh include a popular annual Umusambi Football Tournament for both men and for women as well as an 89 km cycling tournament for locals, amateurs and professionals, around the marsh in partnership with the Rwanda Cycling Federation.
Inspired by the proverb “three stones are needed to have a cooking pot standing,” symbolising unity and collective responsibility, Olivier says what felt like a personal solo mission has expanded as Rwandans join forces “building momentum and love for Rwanda and its wildlife.” RWCA's collaboration extends to Nature Uganda, the International Crane Foundation, Nature Tanzania, ABN (Association Burundaise pour la protection de la Nature), national government institutions, district-level authorities and local leaders, including Whitley Award winner, Jimmy Muheebwa, in Uganda.
Find out more from Conker Nature + The Whitley Awards
UK charity the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is recognising seven outstanding conservationists with 2025 Whitley Awards and £400,000 ($529,000) in funding to sustain their work to revive wildlife species in Rwanda, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia.
At a time when governments are cutting overseas aid, the funding will help to ensure a future for species and their broader ecosystems, including jaguars, Bornean elephants, brown spider monkeys, Javan gibbons, the El Rincón stream frog, Grey Crowned Cranes, as well as Yew trees and orchids.