{"id":1406,"date":"2026-10-26T16:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T21:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/recognitions\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T15:04:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T20:04:42","slug":"recognitions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/recognitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Recognitions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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ECUADOR BIRDFAIR \u00b7 RECOGNITIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognitions 2026<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Ecuador BirdFair pays tribute to individuals whose careers have significantly impacted bird and nature conservation in Ecuador. This year, we recognize four of them and remember one more with a posthumous tribute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Lifetime Achievement Award<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Mar\u00eda<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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BIOLOGIST AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEUR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar\u00eda Eugenia Puente<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

She presided over the Ornithological Foundation of Ecuador, directed the biological monitoring of Yasun\u00ed, and co-authored a field guide to the birds of the northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar\u00eda Eugenia Puente presided over the Ornithological Foundation of Ecuador, now Aves & Conservaci\u00f3n, for two terms, and is the co-author of Birds of Northwestern Ecuador and the Kapari Natural Reserve: A Field Guide<\/em> (2023). A biologist from PUCE, she scientifically directed the Yasun\u00ed Biological Monitoring, whose results on biodiversity and the use of natural resources by the Waorani people were published in eight volumes. She also founded Ecuambiente, a pioneering environmental consulting firm, and created the Ecological Museum of Ecuador. Her trajectory unites science, education, and management in favor of conservation in Ecuador.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"One<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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ORNITHOLOGIST AND CONSERVATIONIST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert S. Ridgely<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

He wrote the definitive guide to the birds of Ecuador and founded the Jocotoco Foundation to protect the habitats of its most threatened species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1997, in the Andes of southern Ecuador, Robert S. Ridgely and John Moore documented a new species for science: the Jocotoco Antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi<\/em>), a bird so elusive that no one had described it before. A year later, Ridgely founded the Jocotoco Foundation, which today protects critically important reserves for the country’s threatened birds. An ornithologist with a Ph.D. from Yale, he is the co-author of The Birds of Ecuador<\/em> (2001, with Paul Greenfield) and other classic guides to Neotropical birds. His work shows that understanding birds and protecting their habitat are two sides of the same task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch talk \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Yolanda<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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FORMER MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION LEADER<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yolanda Kakabadse<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From Fundaci\u00f3n Natura to the presidency of IUCN and WWF International, she has brought Ecuador’s conservation efforts to the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yolanda Kakabadse began her conservation journey in 1979 as executive director of Fundaci\u00f3n Natura, an organization that, under her leadership, became one of the most important environmental entities in Latin America. She founded the Latin American Future Foundation, served as Minister of Environment of Ecuador (1998\u20132000), presided over the International Union for Conservation of Nature (1996\u20132004), and was president of WWF International. She also chaired the Charles Darwin Foundation in Galapagos. Her career has given Ecuadorian conservation a voice in the forums where global environmental policies are decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch talk \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Roque<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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ECONOMIST AND CONSERVATIONIST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roque Sevilla<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Co-founder of Fundaci\u00f3n Natura, he promoted Ecuador’s first debt-for-nature swap and the protection of the Galapagos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roque Sevilla, an economist from Quito, is a co-founder of Fundaci\u00f3n Natura, where he promoted Ecuador’s first debt-for-nature swap and the protection of the Galapagos Islands. He served as National Forestry Director, Mayor of Quito (1998\u20132000), and presided over the Yasun\u00ed-ITT Initiative commission. His vision has been to finance conservation and link it to development, ensuring that nature protection is sustained over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

View talk \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Posthumous Tribute<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Black<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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BIOLOGIST AND ORNITHOLOGIST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fernando Ortiz Crespo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pioneer of Ecuadorian ornithology and nature conservation in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fernando Ortiz Crespo (1942\u20132001) was one of the pioneers of ornithology in Ecuador. From the 1970s, he studied the country’s birds, and his discovery of an Oilbird colony on the western slope of the Andes, published in The Auk<\/em> in 1979, is one of the records that marked that era. In 2004, the Ministry of Environment recognized him as a pioneer of Ecuadorian nature conservation. His brother, Gonzalo Ortiz Crespo, dedicated the book Sembrador de futuro<\/em> (2026) to him, and his legacy continues to shape bird science and conservation in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch talk \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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View agenda<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ECUADOR BIRDFAIR \u00b7 RECOGNITIONS Recognitions 2026 The Ecuador BirdFair pays tribute to individuals whose careers have significantly impacted bird and nature conservation in Ecuador. This year, we recognize four of them and remember one more with a posthumous tribute. Lifetime Achievement Award BIOLOGIST AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEUR Mar\u00eda Eugenia Puente She presided over the Ornithological Foundation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-no-title","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1406","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecuadorbirdfair.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}