Grantee Spotlight: EDGE of Existence Programme
On the Edge Fund, Conservation grantee spotlight
27/05/2025
One supergroup is on the scene to save some seriously threatened species.
For the past 18 years, the ZSL’s EDGE of Existence programme, the founder of the EDGE concept, has been working with scientists and conservationists to produce EDGE priority lists, support locally led conservation action, and train future leaders of conservation through EDGE Fellowships. So far, they have supported 160 EDGE Fellows working on 163 species in 49 countries around the world.
The group’s work
The EDGE Fellowship is a 28-month programme aimed at strengthening, supporting, and diversifying conservation leadership. The programme provides early-career and emerging conservation leaders, aka “EDGE Fellows”, the knowledge, skills, and opportunities for effective conservation efforts for the world’s most unique and extraordinary species.
On the Edge has supported the Edge of Existence programme since 2018, funding 19 Fellows to develop and lead locally-led conservation projects. Their projects have contributed to an increase in conservation attention for EDGE species, securing their long-term survival, and have empowered future conservation leaders to shape conservation agendas in their own countries.
Name:
Arnaud Marius Tchassem Fokoua, Rotsinomena Andriamisedra, Carolina Gonzalez, Margarita Sanchez , Sebastian Eduardo Gómez, Arpithamol C Joy , Ashmita Shrestha , R S Naveen , Tharushi Malshani , Eva Johnson, Tojo Andriamahefa, Adara González, Andrea Natalia Martínez Bulla, Mariam Curbelo Cruz, Mónica Franco Gutiérrez, Dencin Rons Thampy, Hamna Hussain Ali Didi, Herdhanu Jayanto, Tran Thi Tuyet Dung
Country of origin:
Cameroon, Madagascar, Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Venezuela, Colombia, Maldives, Indonesia, Vietnam
Species of choice:
Leptodactylodon axillaris, Aye-aye, Cuetzalan Salamander, Townsend's Salamander, Cuban Solenodon, Brazilian Guitarfish, Dattatreya Night Frog, Elongated Tortoise, Charles Darwin's Frog, Ornate Paradisefish, Nguru Spiny Pygmy Chameleon, Sibree's Dwarf Lemur, Leatherback Turtle, Caribbean Lesser Funnel-eared Bat, Boca de Yumuri Frog, Great Green Macaw, Nilgiri Mystus, Indo-Pacific Leopard Shark, False Gharial, Yellow-spotted Spadefoot Toad
Where to from here?
Catch our Animal Sensemaker episode featuring Stingless bees
In the Amazon and tropical places around the world, armies of stingless bees spend their days collecting nectar from plants and flowers across the forest. Listen here.
Back to On the Edge fund
Discover more about how you can get involved with protecting nature’s underdogs, here.
