Dr. Gladys Kalema, a prominent Ugandan gorilla conservationist, is one of the winners of this year’s People, Environment, Achievements (P.E.A.) Awards.
The 14th edition of the awards recognized individuals for their tireless and inspiring efforts to flip the script and demonstrate that sustainable business is good for bottom lines as well as the planet. Winners were celebrated in sectors ranging from Arts and Energy to influencers and indigenous communities.
Dr. Gladys Kalema was the overall winner of the food category, which aimed to find out how we could successfully feed a growing population with finite resources. Her organization has been helping people around Bwindi to grow Arabica coffee. The organizers sought to highlight individuals spearheading projects that put nature at the center of the food system and campaign for healthy, sustainable food for all.
The judges were amazed by how Dr. Gladys is giving smallholder farmers on the outskirts of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) access to global agricultural commodity markets, increasing incomes and resilience while reducing threats to forest resources and mountain gorillas.
The runners-up in the food category included Kenneth Rimdahl of Forest Friendly Tea, Liberation Foods, Lou Palmer-Masterton of Stem & Glory, and Marc Coloma of Heura Foods.
Who is Dr. Gladys Zikusoka Kalema?
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is Uganda’s first wildlife veterinary doctor. She has spent close to thirty years working to save endangered mountain gorillas and was named one of the BBC’s 100 Women for 2023.
Dr. Kalema immersed herself in studying mountain gorillas when she decided to study veterinary medicine in 1994 at the university. Her research focuses on parasites and bacteria in the fecal samples of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In 2003, she founded and became the CEO of Conservation Through Public Health.
She is widely recognized for pioneering the “One Health Approach to Conservation,” linking national conservation, public health institutions, and communities to create fresh resources that improve both animal and human health.
In 2006, Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in recognition of her innovative idea linking Uganda’s wildlife management and rural public health programs to create common resources that benefit both people and animals. She is also a National Geographic Explorer and won the Edinburgh Medal in 2022 for her work in planetary health.
“This year, the very worthy recipient, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, is being recognized for her pioneering work in community-led wildlife conservation and raising awareness of how human health and the health of the natural world are inextricably linked. Throughout her career, Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka has worked to improve the quality of life of people and wildlife to help them coexist, advocating for integrated approaches that balance human needs with conservation concerns. Her work is vital,” said Edinburgh’s Lord Provost Frank Ross.
Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka joins the ranks of Dr. Jane Goodall, Professor Wangari Mathaii, and Sir David Attenborough, previous winners of the Edinburgh Medal. She was a finalist for the 2020 Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize due to her One Health approach to conservation. Additionally, she was selected to join the WHO Special Advisory Group for the origin of novel pathogens based on her work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, she won the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prizes for her work in fighting zoonotic diseases, or diseases that can spread between animals and humans. Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is also the author of “Walking With Gorillas.”