2020 Bright Award Winner – Maria Azhunova

2020 Bright Award Winner
With over 80% of the world’s biodiversity occurring on Indigenous territory, respecting and reviving Indigenous conservation practices will be critical for protecting future ecosystem health. Maria Azhunova, the 2020 Bright Award winner, is an indigenous Buryat conservation leader who harnesses her people’s Indigenous knowledge and culture to drive conservation projects in both Eastern Russia and Mongolia. She is the Executive Director of the Baikal Buryat Center for Indigenous Culture and the Director of the Land of Snow Leopard Network.

About the Bright Award
The Bright Award was created by a gift from Raymond E. Bright, Jr., JD ’59 in 2007 on behalf of his late wife, Marcelle, and himself. Mr. Bright died in 2011. Under the terms of his gift, the Bright Award is given annually to an “individual who has made significant contributions in the environmental preservation and sustainability area” and is awarded to an individual from one of ten rotating regions. The regions the winners have been chosen from since the award’s inception are: the Middle East; West Asia; Africa; Europe; South America; and North America.

2020 Bright Award Winner - Maria Azhunova
Play Video2020 Bright Award Winner - Maria Azhunova