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Argentinian wins prize for research on vicuñas

09.10.2014

Bibiana Vilá, Principal Researcher of Argentina’s National Research Council (CONICET) and Director of Vicuñas, Camelids and Environment (VICAM) was awarded the 2014 Midori prize in September for her achievements in the conservation and sustainable use of vicuñas.

Vilá finds vicuñas ‘very interesting animals’ from a biological and ecological standpoint. These South American camelids, that live in the Andes, are highly coveted for their fine fleece. They are extremely valuable to the indigenous communities in the high Andes for social, symbolic and economic reasons, she explains. “I always pay careful attention to the traditional knowledge, the ideas, beliefs and suggestions of the people of the highlands,” Vilá said.

“Our sustainability decisions are the mixture of scientific data and locally based ideas that include issues on animal welfare, governance and ethics,” she said, revealing that years of intensive conservation measures followed by a return to historic practices, such as the chaku capture technique, is saving vicuñas, which were in danger of extinction only a few decades ago.

Vilá and her VICAM research team have developed approaches that allow for the capture, shearing and release of wild vicuñas, so that the local indigenous communities earn income and help to conserve the species.

The Midori prize is a biennial international prize organized by the AEON Environmental Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to honour individuals for their outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The other two winners of this year’s awards are Kamal Bawa and Alfred Oteng-Yeboah; Bawa was  selected for his research on rural livelihoods and conservation in biodiversity hotspots while Oteng-Yeboah won for his advocacy work on the importance of dialogues between science and policy.

The winners will be presented with the prizes at an Award Ceremony on 15 October 2014 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, during the Twelfth Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12).

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