How to Save It

Connecting Corridors for Colombia's Brown Spider Monkeys

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:59:35 GMT

The brown spider monkey and its "orchestral" Magdalena River Valley habitat in Colombia have been the focus of Dr Andrés Link's work for 20+ years. Birds, not monkeys were his original plan, he tells Kate and Edward, but the monkey's graceful movement and complex social behaviour drew him to the species whose forest habitat had become fragmented, cleared for ranching and palm oil. Reconnecting it is crucial for survival and Andrés and his team at the NGO he founded Fundación Proyecto Primates are not only winning support from local landowners, they're helping them to plant trees. It’s a project Andrés says has the potential to be replicated across Colombia, home to almost 10 percent of the world's biodiversity.

How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup

Find out more and watch Andrés film here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Link

For more on reconnecting habitat for tree-dwelling mammals, listen to our episode with Fernanda Abra who is building low-cost canopy bridges in the Amazon

https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Abra

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations: Emily Faccini

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Java's Singing, Swinging Gibbons

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:58:27 GMT

It’s a happy accident for the Javan gibbon that Rahayu Oktaviani could not find funding to study orangutans and switched to gibbons for purely practical reasons. She was hooked once she heard “the most beautiful song” of her life in the forest and is working with her team at KIARA, the NGO she founded, to make sure that it doesn’t disappear. Less than 10 percent of forests remain in Java, one of the most densely populated islands on earth. Rahayu, known as Ayu, is part of a new generation of conservationists inspired by Sir David Attenborough as well as primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas. She tells Kate and Edward that she wants to raise awareness of the Javan gibbon in the same way the legendary women helped chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans to win hearts and minds around the world.

Find out more and watch Ayu’s film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Oktaviani

For more on primates, listen to our episode with Kuenzang Dorji in Bhutan who works with Gee’s Golden Langur monkeys https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Dorji

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations by Emily Faccini

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saving the Tigers of the Plant World in Nepal

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 11:13:41 GMT

The healing powers of Nepal's orchids and yew trees have always been prized by local communities but global demand is stripping the forests of its healers. Step in Reshu Bashyal who's not only raising awareness of illegal harvesting of what she calls "the tigers of the plant world" but has a plan to protect these natural resources. Reshu tells Kate and Edward that she grew up understanding that plants are special but they did not appear to be recognized in wildlife conservation. She’s changing that. Reshu and her colleagues at NGO Greenhood Nepal want to empower forest groups, clear invasive species, plant thousands of new yews and rehabilitate fallen orchids. She’s also - crucially - working with government and forest officials to formalise a sustainable harvest and trade.

Find out more and watch Reshu’s film here: https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Bashyal

For more stories on Nepal, listen to our episode with Nepal’s “Owl Sir” https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Acharya

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations by Emily Faccini

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Argentina's El Rincón Stream Frog Finds its Biggest Champion

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 11:06:35 GMT

Argentina’s Somuncura Plateau in the Patagonian steppe resembles a vast rocky lunar landscape. It’s where a volcanic stream allowed for the evolution of a tiny amphibian, the El Rincón stream frog which has found its biggest champion in Dr Federico Kacoliris.

"Unlike most people, I was drawn to those often seen as ugly or feared – frogs, snakes, lizards, but also many insects. I like them. I don’t know why..." he tells Kate and Edward. The frog was one of the most endangered amphibians in the world. In this episode, Federico explains to Kate and Edward how his team at his NGO Fundación Somuncura brought the frog back from the brink of extinction through captive breeding and finding solutions for people living in this remote landscape whose livestock were a threat. Federico is now scaling up and creating a nature reserve to share his enthusiasm for the extreme landscape that he loves with tourism on the agenda to see his favourite frog and other fauna....

Find out more and watch Federico’s short film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Kacoliris

Photo credit: Hernán Povedano

For more on the discovery of new species, listen to our episode with Leroy Ignacio in Guyana https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Ignacio

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations by Emily Faccini

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Walking with World's Smallest Elephants in Malaysian Borneo

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:58:41 GMT

The Lower Kinabatangan in Malaysian Borneo is a tropical mix of lush forests, mangroves and oxbow lakes and home to the Bornean elephant, the world's smallest as well as roundest and cutest elephant, in the opinion of Dr Farina Othman. She and her team are building a protected corridor in partnership with oil palm plantations for the 250 elephants that remain locally. Ninety percent of their original habitat has been converted to oil palm, now the main source of income for local people who feel the elephant “belongs to the scientists, the NGOs, the government…" and not them, she tells Kate and Edward. Her nonprofit Seratu Aatai is helping build the skills to coexist with elephants and to "walk this journey with them,” Farina explains. Her plan is to put Kinabatangan on the map as a conservation model that can be replicated across other landscapes.

Find out more and watch Farina’s film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Othman

For more on the elephant’s closest relative, the manatee, listen to our episode with Dr Aristide Kamla from Cameroon https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Kamla

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations by Emily Faccini

Photo credit: Cede Prudente

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The Jaguars of Iguaçu Just Wanna Be Jaguars

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:58:26 GMT

"Shy, incredibly powerful, they are the biggest cat in America…." and jaguars are free to roam Iguaçu National Park in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, home to one of the world's biggest waterfalls and 185,000 hectares of lush and diverse sub-tropical broadleaf forest. They are also critically endangered locally.

"If you remove your fear glasses and you really look at them, you see that they just want to be jaguars," Dr Yara Barros tells Kate and Edward. "They don't want to kill you. They don't want to harm. They just want to hunt, raise their cubs, live in peace in the forest."

Yara is executive coordinator of Project Jaguars of Iguaçu and arguably the species biggest champion. Her team is on call around the clock to ensure the survival of the apex predator, taking action to both defuse and prevent conflict with the inhabitants of the ten cities surrounding the park. Jaguar numbers more than doubled to 25 individuals in the park thanks to the work of Yara's small team to continuously monitor the species and raise awareness with local communities.

Find out more and see Yara’s short film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Barros

For more on another of Brazil's iconic species, listen to our episode with Dr Pati Medici, a world leading expert on tapirs. https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Medici_Maldonado

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations by Emily Faccini

Photo credit: Emilio White

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Grey Crowned Cranes Make a Comeback in Rwanda

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:58:03 GMT

Rwanda’s Grey Crowned Cranes were in trouble before a vet and former gorilla doctor stepped in with an innovative plan to save the leggy bird, known for its striking plumage and elaborate courtship dance. Dr Olivier Nsengimana tells Kate and Edward how his campaign won support from both Rwandans and the government, boosting the crane's fragile population by 1,000 individuals.

When you fall in love with nature, you can’t let your childhood superhero disappear, Olivier says. It's not just about saving the cranes, he says, but preserving the life-giving wetlands they inhabit for wildlife - and humanity. Olivier and his team at Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association, the NGO he founded, are now leading an ambitious plan to reverse declines in the crane across East Africa, with partners in Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.

Find out more and watch Olivier's short film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Nsengimana

For more on birds and preserving wetlands, listen to our episode on Dr Purnima Devi Barman whose pioneering work has saved the Greater Adjutant Stork in Assam. https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Barman

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations by Emily Faccini

Photo credit: Lynn Von Gagen, Denver Zoo

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Introducing How to Save It Season 2 with Kate Humble and Edward Whitley

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 12:24:32 GMT

Join us for new stories of hope and agency from conservationists around the world in Season 2 of How to Save It with Kate Humble and Edward Whitley.

Listen to their sometimes unlikely paths to protecting wildlife species from Javan gibbons to jaguars in Brazil and learn how a small frog in remote Patagonia found its biggest champion.

Tune in for a dose of inspiration and optimism as we hear from an emerging army of advocates who are protecting, restoring and redefining our relationship with the natural world.

Backed by Sir David Attenborough, and founded by Edward Whitley, the Whitley Fund for Nature is a London-based environmental NGO that accelerates the work of grassroots conservationists.

How to Save It is a podcast by the Whitley Fund for Nature: bit.ly/WhitleyFundForNature

Executive producer: Sarah Treanor

Illustrations: Emily Faccini

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tapirs, Night Monkeys and what it takes to save the Amazon

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:17:12 GMT

Tapirs and night monkeys are two of the estimated three million species of the Amazon rainforest which plays a vital role in stabilising the world’s climate. Dr Pati Medici from Brazil and Dr Angela Maldonado from Colombia are on a mission to ensure these species stick around and play their role in preserving the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Danger abounds as they must share habitat with armed militias, mining, palm oil companies, and more. Ahead of Brazil hosting world leaders for COP30 in Belem this year, Pati and Angela discuss how to save the Amazon. They talk coexistence and coalitions, “tapir heaven” and monkey selfies, with broadcasters and Whitley Fund for Nature Ambassadors, Kate Humble and Tom Heap. The podcast was recorded at a live event at London's Royal Institution.

Special thanks to Edward Whitley

Watch Pati Medici’s Gold Award film, narrated by Sir David Attenborough—a must-see story of conservation in action! Watch now.

Discover Angela Maldonado’s Gold Award-winning journey in this film from 2010. Watch now!

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s top conservationists. The 2025 Whitley Awards shortlist is here! Meet the inspiring conservationists making a difference.

Click here to donate: bit.ly/WhitleyAwards_Donate

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Restoring Harmony in Bhutan with "Langur Kuenzang"

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 14:00:00 GMT

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is known for its pristine forests, prioritising wellbeing over economic growth, and being the world's first carbon negative country. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from wildlife biologist Kuenzang Dorji on how Buddhism is the cornerstone to conservation in Bhutan. He's restoring harmony between two populations in Bhutan's forests: Gee's Golden Langur monkeys and farmers, many of whom live below the national poverty index and whose crops of oranges, guava and even chilli, the primates have started to raid. Using an arsenal of natural deterrents as well as citizen science, Kuenzang is determined to restore the good fortune once associated with the leaping langur and the harmonious coexistence between people and primates.

See Kuenzang’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: bit.ly/GoldenLangurMonkeys

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. Applications for the Whitley Awards are open! If you are leading a grassroots conservation project in the Global South that we should know about, please apply here: bit.ly/WhitleyAward_ApplyNow

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Guardians of Guyana's Red Siskin

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:28:01 GMT

In the savannah grasslands and forests of Guyana's South Rupununi, the scientific discovery of a little songbird catalysed the creation of the country's first Indigenous-led conservation NGO. Leroy Ignacio was determined to chart a new destiny for the Red Siskin when it was first identified in Guyana in 2000. The finch had been hunted almost to extinction in nearby Venezuela - for the pet trade, historically for its feathers to make hats, and for experiments to produce a red canary. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from Leroy, who is Indigenous Makushi, and president and founding member of the South Rupununi Conservation Society. Amid an unprecedented economic boom, Leroy is leading an expansion of the community-managed conservation zone for the Red Siskin and defining a new vision, powered by Indigenous people, for environmental protection.

See Leroy’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: https://bit.ly/GuyanaRedSiskins

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding Cameroon's Missing Manatees

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 14:33:54 GMT

The African manatee is an elusive marine mammal inhabiting the Atlantic coastal waters of 21 African countries from Mauritania to Angola and whose population is unknown. Cameroon's foremost manatee expert, Dr Aristide Kamla, had never heard of what's considered the elephant's closest relative when he started university; he couldn't swim and he wanted to be a doctor. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from the Fulbright scholar about how local fishing communities became Aristide's teachers in how to find the mysterious species which is now his life's passion. And in a masterclass in how to restore harmony between people and wildlife, he persuaded them to become chief advocates for the manatee; from fighting invasive species with him on Lake Ossa to recording thousands of sightings of marine species on Siren, Aristide's citizen science app which is rapidly expanding across Africa.

See Aristide’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: https://bit.ly/AfricanManatees

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

Click here to donate: bit.ly/WhitleyAwards_Donate

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building Bridges in the Amazon Rainforest

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 14:00:00 GMT

The Waimiri-Atroari people fought with their lives to protect their land when Brazil’s military dictatorship forced the BR-174 highway through the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s, cutting the habitat of wildlife in two. The Waimiri subsequently recorded more than 20,000 road fatalities of wildlife. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from Fernanda Abra, a road ecologist and pioneer of low-cost canopy bridges in Brazil. Together with the Waimiri, Fernanda and her team have built the first 32 bridges to reconnect habitat for tree-dwelling mammals such as Capuchin and spider monkeys. Her Reconecta Project is the start of an ambitious plan to scale across the world's most biodiverse country which has the fourth-largest road network.

See Fernanda’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: bit.ly/AmazonCrossings

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

Click here to donate: bit.ly/WhitleyAwards_Donate

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Omens: How Nepal's "Owl, Sir" Debunks the Myths

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 14:00:00 GMT

He is the mastermind of one of Nepal's biggest conservation festivals. But it's not in honour of the solitary snow leopard, the majestic Bengal tiger or red panda - it's for the humble owl. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from Raju Acharya, who is known as "owl, sir" in Nepal. The Himalayan country is home to 23 species of owls which are simultaneously regarded as good and bad omens by the country's 125 distinct ethnic groups. Raju has recruited "owl envoys," spearheaded a 10-year government action plan and gone door to door to shift perceptions around the nocturnal species. Now districts are lining up to celebrate them.

See Raju’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: bit.ly/SafeguardNepalOwls

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

Click here to donate: bit.ly/WhitleyAwards_Donate

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Indigenous Women Step up to Protect Papua New Guinea's Coral Reefs

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:59:19 GMT

The "Amazon of the Seas" is a vast marine area in the western Pacific Ocean that is home to 76 percent of the world's coral reef species. In the Papua New Guinea corner of the Coral Triangle, a local biologist is accelerating protection for them. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from Naomi Longa who leads an all-female team of Indigenous divers who monitor and manage the reefs of Kimbe Bay, an area of staggering marine biodiversity which includes pygmy seahorses, whale sharks and orcas. The Sea Women of Melanesia are working with AI to map coral reefs in a country where technology is scarcely accessible. They are only getting started....

See Naomi’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: bit.ly/ConserveCoralReefs_PNG

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

Click here to donate: bit.ly/WhitleyAwards_Donate

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mobilising an Army to Save the Greater Adjutant Stork

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 14:00:15 GMT

The Greater Adjutant Stork is a misunderstood bird that Dr Purnima Devi Barman in Assam, India, has devoted her life to protecting. In this episode, join Kate Humble and Edward Whitley to hear how Purnima built a 10,000 strong army of local female fans of the reviled scavenger. Saving it, not only dramatically transformed the outlook for the bird, known as "Hargila," but also the lives of the local "stork sister" protectors. The "Hargila Army" is now so popular that even men want to join.

See Purnima’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: bit.ly/GreaterAdjutantStorks

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

Click here to donate: bit.ly/WhitleyAwards_Donate

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.