“We honour people with role model character!”
– KfW Stiftung Executive Board member Dr. Michael Helbig
Senior Community Relations Manager Hercília Chipanga will receive a EUR 25,000 Bernhard Grzimek Prize award from KfW Stiftung for her commitment to species and climate protection goals in Gorongosa National Park.
“Receiving this award is a humbling recognition of our collective efforts,” Hercília said about her work and the efforts of her peers. “This honor reflects our strong community partnerships and our shared commitment to preserving nature while making sure every voice is valued and heard.”
Hercília manages three major programs – Natural Resources Management Committees and Governance, Conservation Education, and Human Wildlife Coexistence – in six the districts surrounding Gorongosa National Park.
She has dedicated 18 years of her life to community development, working in significant roles with the World Wildlife Fund, a local NGO supporting the Chimanimani National Reserve, and six years with the Gorongosa Restoration Project. Her approach to community development is rooted in inclusivity, co-creation, equity, participation, and ownership. The result: Communities are more than neighbors; they are active stakeholders in park management.
Hercilía Chipanga, top, right and center, makes a concerted effort to connect with the people she serves as a community development manager. Photos – Janado Nazare Cher
Hercilía shares the honor with Andhani Hartanti from Indonesia, who will also receive a EUR 25,000 award from KfW Stiftung. Andhani is fighting for the survival of the orangutans in Sumatra, the last contiguous lowland rainforest area on earth.
Andhani Hartanti has been working for eight years to establish a new, self-sustaining orangutan population in the Bukit Tiga Puluh region. As a veterinarian and head of the Frankfurt Zoological Society jungle school, Andhani cares for orphaned young animals and prepares them for life in the treetops through specially designed games. The reintroduction program has already successfully relocated over 200 orangutans from private ownership into the wild.
Dr. Michael Helbig from the Executive Board of KfW Stiftung said: “This year’s prize honours two women who are actively contributing to achieving the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in Montreal in 2022 through their work in the field. They are “Hidden Heroes” because they are not in the public eye, but their work has an immense positive impact on the conservation of biodiversity. Their willingness to work for the protection of endangered habitats is exemplary”.
On behalf of the KfW Bernhard Grzimek Award jury, Marion Schulte zu Berge, Secretary General of the German Advisory Council on Global Change, said: “With their work, both award winners achieve sustainable results for the natural areas in which they live and thus also contribute to the social and economic situation of the local population”.
KfW Stiftung is an independent non-profit foundation set up by Germany’s state-owned development bank KfW in 2012. The foundation engages directly with in facing the world’s major challenges—globalization, environmental protection, climate and demographic change.
Hercilía Chipanga, center, chats with employee building elephant-proof grain silos for farmers in nearby communities. Photo – Janado Nazare Cher