Conservation Leadership Programme Future Conservationist Awards 2027

Who can apply

• Teams of at least three early-career conservationists
• Conservationists with no more than five years of paid professional conservation experience
• Teams based in and implementing projects in an eligible country
• Team members who are nationals of the country where the project will take place
• Teams where one non-national member is included only where the expertise is clearly justified and that member is a national of an eligible country
• Undergraduate students who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements
• Master’s students who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements
• Individuals from formal, informal or non-formal educational backgrounds
• Local conservation practitioners
• Community conservationists
• Early-career conservationists affiliated with local NGOs, universities, community groups or other institutions where all individual eligibility conditions are met
• Applicants from historically marginalised and underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply

Focus areas

• Biodiversity conservation
• Climate impacts and adaptation
• Habitat restoration
• Habitat management
• Threatened species conservation
• Data Deficient species conservation
• Globally important habitats
• Community-led conservation
• Indigenous community participation
• Social development and wellbeing linked to conservation
• Human-wildlife conflict
• Environmental policy
• Environmental education
• Citizen science
• Ecological research linked to conservation action
• Conservation behaviour change
• Local stakeholder participation
• Protected and priority conservation areas
• Key Biodiversity Areas
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas
• Important Plant Areas
• Ramsar sites
• Marine Protected Areas
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• Conservation leadership and capacity development

Requirements

• Each project team must include at least three people.
• All team members must have no more than five years of paid conservation experience.
• Paid work in related areas such as biodiversity research, environmental education and conservation outreach counts towards the five-year limit.
• Research undertaken for a university degree, unpaid volunteering and internships do not count as paid conservation experience.
• Applicants currently enrolled in a PhD programme are not eligible.
• All team members should normally be nationals of the country where the project will take place.
• One non-national team member may be permitted where their expertise is clearly justified and they are a national of an eligible country.
• No team member may be a paid employee or contractor of BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora or the Wildlife Conservation Society during project development or implementation.
• Applicants may participate in only one CLP project at a time.
• Applicants may participate in no more than three Future Conservationist Award projects in total and may serve as team leader for only one Future Conservationist project.
• The project must take place in an eligible country.
• The project must run for at least six months and no more than 12 months.
• The amount requested from CLP must not exceed US$15,000.
• CLP funding must cover at least 50% of the total project budget.
• The project must address globally important at-risk species or habitats.
• Target species may include those classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List, or species for which credible evidence demonstrates an urgent local conservation need.
• The project must be a new initiative rather than simply a continuation of an established ongoing project.
• The project must go beyond academic research and include practical conservation outcomes.
• Projects directly tied to PhD or doctoral research are not eligible.
• Projects involving laboratory analysis must demonstrate why the analysis is critical and urgent for conservation.
• Projects should balance conservation research with practical action where appropriate.
• Projects must demonstrate realistic objectives, methods, activities, timelines and budgets.
• Applicants should show how project results will contribute to longer-term conservation outcomes.
• Projects should meaningfully involve relevant communities, institutions and other stakeholders.
• The concept note must be written in English.
• The proposal must be written by the applicant team itself.

Application steps

• Review the official 2027 Future Conservationist Award eligibility guidelines carefully.
• Confirm that the project country is eligible under the current CLP country rules.
• Form a project team of at least three eligible early-career conservationists.
• Confirm that every team member meets the five-year paid conservation experience limit.
• Identify a globally important at-risk species or habitat and a clear conservation problem requiring action.
• Develop a new conservation project lasting between six and 12 months.
• Design a project that goes beyond academic research and produces practical conservation outcomes.
• Develop realistic SMART objectives and appropriate conservation methods and activities.
• Explain how each team member will strengthen their conservation skills and leadership capacity through the project.
• Demonstrate how local communities, organisations, government bodies or other relevant stakeholders will participate or support the work.
• Prepare a realistic project budget requesting no more than US$15,000 from CLP.
• Ensure that CLP funding represents at least 50% of the total project budget.
• Download and complete the official 2027 concept note template in English.
• Ensure the applicant team writes and reviews the concept note themselves.
• Submit the completed concept note by email to clp.applications@birdlife.org.
• Submit by 30 October 2026 at 23:59 GMT.
• Only the highest-scoring concept notes will be invited to Stage 2 and asked to submit a full application through the CLP online portal.
• Shortlisted concept-note applicants are expected to be contacted by the end of December 2026.