Rebecca has been working at FFI since September 2007. Though she studied conservation in her BA and MSc, she decided that the life in the jungle just wasn't for her. Having grown up in New York City, she has experienced more pigeons and squirrels than parrots and spider monkeys. So she decided to write about the impact that FFI's projects have on the ground.
Her current role as Communications Officer (Business & Biodiversity) has allowed her to focus her energy towards FFI's innovative Business & Biodiversity Programme. Rebecca helps to get the message out about FFI's strategic corporate partnerships and what they have helped to achieve for global biodiversity.
FFI has lots to report on our work to protect the Ustyurt Plateau in Uzbekistan – home to the unique-looking saiga antelope.
We have just launched a large five year project to secure the plateau’s grassland habitat on a landscape level. Though the saiga antelope is the area’s most famous resident, there are so many other species that rely on it.
This new initiative is thanks to the USAID’s SCAPES (Sustainable Conservation Approaches in Priority EcosystemS) program. We are now ramping up our efforts to secure this fragile habitat by working with our partners and local communities to reduce threats such as saiga poaching.
FFI has been working to protect the saiga antelope since 2004 alongside our partner, the Uzbek Institute of Zoology. Two key players in this initiative are Elena Bykova and Alexander Esipov, a husband and wife team who work at the Institute.
They have recently been awarded the prestigious Marsh Award for Conservation Leadership. This award recognises and rewards an individual or organisation that has made a significant contribution to FFI’s goals. We are proud to be working with such inspiring and dedicated people.
The Marsh Award will be spent on expanding current awareness campaigns to inform communities and the broader public on a landscape scale about the importance of saiga antelope conservation.
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