Company Announcement - The Rhino Conservation Awards, which will be held on the 27th of July at the Montecasino Ballroom, will proudly host various international ambassadors and embassy representatives, sponsor representatives, diplomats, members of the Department of Environmental Affairs, the South African National Parks Board, media and organisations and individuals involved in rhino conservation. The Awards are held in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Affairs of South Africa and the Game Rangers’ Association of Africa.

The annual Rhino Conservation Awards were founded in 2012 and, this year, Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH of the ZEISS Group co-sponsored the Awards with Ms Xiaoyang Yu, Founder Partner of China New Enterprise Investment. With an organisation-wide drive for environmental responsibility that has been prevalent for more than a century, the ZEISS Group is well aware of the importance of nature conservation. Dr Kaschke, Chief Executive Officer of the Zeiss Group, and Dr Winfried Scherle, Chief Executive Officer of Carl Zeiss Sports Optics look forward to being at the Awards ceremony.

His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, who has acted as the Patron of the Rhino Conservation Initiative and the Rhino Conservation Awards since 2014, will be in attendance at the event. Various other esteemed international guests have also confirmed their attendance, including representatives from the Mozambican Embassy, the Taipei Liaison Office, the German Embassy, the Royal Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Botswana, the Republic of Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and the United States Agency for International Development.   

Nominations opened in February 2015 and were invited from African rhino range states, in categories including; Best Field Ranger, Best Conservation Practitioner, Best Political and Judicial Support, Best Science Research and Technology, and Best Awareness, Education or Funding. The additional Special Youths category aims to honour youngsters that contribute in their own way to the conservation of the rhino. The nominations period closed mid-June and was followed by an adjudication process. A short-list of finalists has been made and will be announced at the Awards ceremony. 

Founder of the Awards, Dr Larry Hansen, is proud of the Awards and the role they play in highlighting the need for greater investment in conservation, as well as recognising the hard work already being done. “As the plight of the rhino continues to escalate, it is essential that the individuals and organisations that strive to protect the vulnerable species are recognised. This acknowledgement of their efforts plays a great role in honouring these conservation heroes, while motivating them never to give up.”