Atticus Fleming: Lifetime of Conservation Award 2018

By Australian Geographic October 26, 2018
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The 2018 Lifetime of Conservation Award has gone to Atticus Fleming, former Chief Executive of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, the world’s largest private owner of land for conservation.

AFTER GROWING UP in the bush in central-west NSW, Atticus has dedicated his professional life to the conservation of Australia’s endangered wildlife and habitats, leveraging a combination of private (commercial) sector, government, charitable (non-profit), political and legal experience.

As the inaugural Chief Executive of the non-profit Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) from 2002 to 2018, Atticus oversaw its growth from a small WA operation to the largest private owner of land for conservation in the world, managing 4.65 million hectares across iconic regions such as the Kimberley, the Top End and the central Australian outback.

Atticus led the organisation in developing a new model for conservation, protecting some of the largest remaining populations of many of Australia’s threatened species. AWC is now the custodian of some of the largest remaining populations of many threatened species, including bilbies, numbats, bridled nailtail wallabies, Gouldian finches, purple-crowned fairy-wrens and more.

2018 Lifetime of Conservation recipient Atticus Fleming receiving his medallion at the 2018 Gala Awards ceremony in Sydney.

Read about all the winners of the 2018 Australian Geographic Society Awards

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