The conservationists were selected by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) as part of the fund’s 15 year anniversary celebrations. The 15 Hotspot Heroes received their awards during a reception at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, for their outstanding contribution to the conservation of biodiversity hotspots. Mr Boseto was selected as the East Melanesian Islands Biodiversity Hotspot Hero from among the fund’s more than 2,000 grantee organisations around the globe.

Mr. Boseto co-founded ESSI with Dr Patrick Pikacha in 2012, and the two men continue to lead the organization. With support from CEPF, Mr. Boseto and ESSI have set the foundation for a long-term, community-owned conservation initiative on Choiseul Island in Solomon Islands. Here they are working with local communities to map customary ownership of land and natural resources and develop land-use plans that reflect cultural and biological values.

Mr. Boseto and ESSI have also played a leading role in other CEPF-supported initiatives in the Solomon Islands, including promoting ridges-to-reef conservation in Western Province and undertaking baseline biological surveys of the highlands of Guadalcanal as a basis for community-based conservation initiatives.

We were delighted to highlight Mr David Boseto from Ecological Solutions Solomon Islands as East Melanesia’s Hotspot Hero. Congratulations again to David!

The other award winners, including five women, were from Bhutan, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Ghana, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Panama, Peru, Tunisia, VietNam and South Africa.

Additional media can be seen here:

CEPF recognizes 15 Hotspot Heroes 

Scientist dedicates award to late brother

Conservation hero urges graduates to look beyond

A hero never ends the fight with one victory