Nominations open for 20th Biodiversity Conservation Awards

Deadline: 1 April 2025

Nominations are now open for the 20th Biodiversity Conservation Awards to publicly recognize the work of conservation organizations, institutions and agencies that develop environmental conservation policies or functions, as well as that of communication professionals who contribute to protecting natural heritage.

Focus Areas

The following are awarded:
- Particularly significant projects, policies and/or actions for the conservation and protection of habitats, species or ecosystems, based on the best scientific knowledge. The actions are focused on Spain, Latin America and the rest of the world.
- Dissemination of environmental knowledge and raising awareness of the value of conservation of the natural environment in Spanish.

Award Categories

There are four types of awards:
- BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Spain: It recognises the execution of particularly significant projects, policies and/or actions for the conservation and protection of habitats, species or ecosystems in Spain, which have been completed before 31 December 2024, with objective results in the conservation of biodiversity.
- BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America: It recognizes the execution of particularly significant projects, policies and/or actions for the conservation and protection of habitats, species or ecosystems in one or more Latin American countries, which have been completed before December 31, 2024, with objective results in the conservation of biodiversity.
- BBVA Foundation World Award for Biodiversity Conservation: It recognises the implementation of particularly significant projects, policies and/or actions for the conservation and protection of habitats, species or ecosystems in any country, with a significance and scope that exceeds its borders.
- BBVA Foundation Awards for the Dissemination of Knowledge and Raising Awareness in Biodiversity Conservation in Spanish: It recognises the work carried out to disseminate environmental knowledge to society in Spanish and raise awareness about the importance of conservation through articles, monographs, popular books or multimedia materials; the preparation, editing or presentation of reports and documentaries; the curating and design of exhibitions; as well as the implementation of activities in any communication channel (press, radio, television, cinema, Internet or social networks, among others), which have been completed before December 31, 2024 and which have yielded objective results in the dissemination of knowledge and awareness in biodiversity conservation. There are two categories of awards in this category: one specific to audiovisual formats and another dedicated to other formats.

Prize Information

The BBVA Foundation Awards for Biodiversity Conservation, in each of their categories, will be awarded as follows:
- BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Spain:
  - There will be one prize of 250,000 euros, a diploma and an artistic symbol.
- BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America:
  - There will be one prize of 250,000 euros, a diploma and an artistic symbol.
- BBVA Foundation World Award for Biodiversity Conservation:
  - There will be one prize of 250,000 euros, a diploma and an artistic symbol.
- BBVA Foundation Awards for the Dissemination of Knowledge and Raising Awareness in Biodiversity Conservation in Spanish:
  - Two prizes will be awarded, each worth 80,000 euros, a diploma and an artistic symbol.

Eligibility Criteria

BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Spain:
- Candidates will be legal entities, public or private, non-profit and based in Spain, that meet the following requirements:
  - Be legally constituted before 2023.
  - Aim to carry out activities related to the conservation of biodiversity and the environment.
BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America:
- Candidates will be legal entities, public or private, non-profit and based in a Latin American country, that meet the following requirements:
  - Be legally constituted before 2023.
  - Aim to carry out activities related to the conservation of biodiversity and the environment.
BBVA Foundation World Award for Biodiversity Conservation:
- Candidates must be legal entities, public or private, non-profit and based in any country, that meet the following requirements:
  - Be legally constituted before 2023.
  - Aim to carry out activities related to the conservation of biodiversity and the environment.
BBVA Foundation Awards for the Dissemination of Knowledge and Raising Awareness in Biodiversity Conservation in Spanish:
- Candidates will be individuals of any nationality working in the field of communication, dissemination and awareness-raising on biodiversity conservation in Spanish.
Joint applications may be submitted by two or more persons who have carried out the aforementioned dissemination tasks in collaboration.

Evaluation Criteria

All applications submitted in accordance with these rules will be evaluated by a jury composed of leading researchers and experts in environmental conservation and communication, who will select the winning applications based on the following evaluation criteria:
- BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Spain:
  - Direct contribution of projects, policies or actions to the conservation of threatened species, habitats and/or ecosystems.
  - Projects must be of an eminently applied nature and may not consist exclusively or primarily of scientific research.
  - Innovation and originality of the corresponding contribution.
- BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America:
  - Direct contribution of projects, policies or actions to the conservation of threatened species, habitats and/or ecosystems.
  - Projects must be of an eminently applied nature and may not consist exclusively or primarily of scientific research.
  - Innovation and originality of the corresponding contribution.
  - Geographical scope of the action.
- BBVA Foundation World Award for Biodiversity Conservation:
  - Direct contribution of projects, policies or actions to the conservation of threatened species, habitats and/or ecosystems.
  - Projects must be of an eminently applied nature and may not consist exclusively or primarily of scientific research.
  - Innovation and originality of the corresponding contribution.
  - Geographical scope of the action.
- BBVA Foundation Awards for the Dissemination of Knowledge and Raising Awareness in Biodiversity Conservation in Spanish:
  - Dissemination activities may include the publication of articles, monographs, popular books or multimedia materials; the preparation, editing or presentation of news, reports and documentaries; the curating and design of exhibitions; or the production and dissemination of content and activities through any communication channel (press, radio, television, cinema, Internet or social networks, among others).
  - Innovation and originality of dissemination activities.
  - Scientific quality of the contents.
  - Social impact of dissemination activities.