Tanzanian Conservationist Rahima Njaidi Honoured at 2025 Tusk Awards in London

LONDON: MJUMITA founder and Chief Executive Rahima Njaidi has been recognised at the 2025 Tusk Conservation Awards for her trailblazing work placing rural communities at the centre of Tanzania’s forest protection and restoration efforts.

The awards ceremony, the 13th annual Tusk Conservation Awards, was held in London on the night of 26 November, where Prince William personally honoured three front line African conservation leaders, including Ms Njaidi.

Delivering his keynote address, Prince William highlighted the accelerating environmental pressures facing the planet.

“Tonight is a reminder that our planet continues to face serious environmental concerns. We must continue our efforts to protect nature and highlight the critical role that biodiversity plays in supporting all life on Earth,” he said.

He emphasised the often-overlooked power of local stewardship, saying, “so often, it is indigenous communities and local conservation leaders who provide the practical answers on how to sustain our precious natural landscapes and vital biodiversity.”

Commending the winners, he said, “Laban, Rahima and Kumara are wonderful examples of what can be achieved locally, regionally and at the national level.”

Prince William further emphasised the essential link between human well-being and environmental protection.
He said, “humanity thrives when nature is given space to provide the clean air, water, and food we all require.

That is why the insight and expertise of the Tusk award winners should inspire us to drive change. We must continue to amplify their voices and support their vital work.”

Africa, which holds one-quarter of global biodiversity, 9 per cent of renewable freshwater, 20 per cent of tropical rainforests and nearly 9,000 protected areas, remains at the epicentre of mounting climate impacts, rapid biodiversity decline and intensifying competition for land and forest resources.

After receiving the honour, Ms Njaidi said the award was both humbling and motivating.

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“It affirms the efforts of my colleagues and me, working tirelessly to ensure that communities are at the heart of forest management and conservation,” she said.

She added, “let this award stand as a reminder that investing in communities is investing in conservation, resilience and hope. The future of our forests and our planet depends on it.”

Ms Njaidi won the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa for equipping rural Tanzanian communities with tools to secure land rights, improve forest governance and adopt equitable benefit-sharing models that reduce deforestation while improving local livelihoods.

Her work spans 503 villages, supported through 132 community-based organisations under the MJUMITA network, and has directly impacted more than 49,000 residents, most of them women and historically marginalised groups.

Through this model, communities have secured communal land tenure, diversified incomes and strengthened local forest governance systems.

The Tusk Conservation Awards are organised by conservation charity Tusk, in partnership with investment firm Ninety-One. Since the awards launched in 2013, they have honoured 57 conservation leaders from more than 20 countries.