Bravery Award Announced in Honor of Murdered Conservationist

At the 4th International Marine Conservation Congress, the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) Marine Section have announced the Jairo Mora Sandoval Award, named after the murdered Costa Rican environmentalist. The award is to be given for bravery associated with an outstanding contribution to the field of marine conservation, with particular emphasis on responsible and educated scientific endeavour, public engagement and conservation activism.

Jairo Mora Sandoval was 26 years old when his life was cut tragically short at Moin beach while protecting sea turtles from egg poachers in 2013. Unfortunately, such sacrifices are not uncommon. The SCB Marine Section are hoping that this award will bring some much-needed attention to the persecution of conservation biologists.

"Dozens of conservationists are killed every year for working to protect the environment. It occurs around the world, but particularly in developing countries. Despite the numbers, this issue remains largely unnoticed," said Mel Cosentino, a member of the SCB Marine Section Policy Committee behind the initiative. "The Jairo Mora Sandoval Award is the first award that recognises and honors the work that dedicated, but all-too-often anonymous people do for our planet, while potentially putting their lives at risk." Nearly 1000 conservation biologists were murdered for simply doing their job between 2002 and 2014, according to Global Witness.

"During the recent International Marine Conservation Congress, the current under-involvement of people from developing nations in our profession was highlighted," noted Andrew Wright, the SCB Marine Section Policy Officer. "The global conservation community can help shine a light on the efforts of those in developing nations risking their lives to take up conservation causes, and perhaps the exposure will offer them some protection." The SCB Marine Section believes they have now taken the initiative, but hope that other western-based conservation groups become involved in similar efforts.

The award includes a financial contribution to an organisation associated with the awardee. The inaugural award is being made to the Asociación Jairo Mora Sandoval, which was set up by Jairo's family to continue his conservation work.

"We had no idea that Jairo's story had touched so many people's hearts. We are incredibly honoured that the award is named after him", said Fernanda Sandoval, Jairo's mother. "The award (money) will help us continue with Jairo's work and raise awareness about the environmental issues in the area, and we are very grateful to SCB for that."

"Jairo's story made the international news due to the brutality of his murder," says Cosentino. "Yet, the more we learned about him, the more we felt his story represented the story of many conservationists globally. He fell in love with sea turtles when he was just 8 years old. He was young, committed, brave. He cared. He never gave up. His dedication became a symbol for Costa Rica. We felt giving the first award to the Asociación Jairo Mora Sandoval was important, not because of the funds, but because it could make a real difference to the conservation of sea turtles in Jairo's home country."

The Jairo Mora Sandoval Award will continue to be presented at every International Marine Conservation Congress, including at the next one in Kuching, Borneo in 2018.

More information:
Mel Cosentino (scbmarinecomms@gmail.com)
Andrew Wright (scbmarinecomms@gmail.com)

Provided by Society for Conservation Biology Marine Section