The nominees for the International Ranger Awards 2025 

Rodrigue Katembo Mugaruka 

Rodrigue Katembo Mugaruka is the Director and Deputy site manager of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He was recognized for his bravery while protecting DRC land from corruption and exploitation. IUCN NL supported Rodrigue during the SOCO case, in which he collected camera footage of SOCO International – a British oil company – and its contractors offering bribes and discussing illegal activities. The gathered footage was featured in the documentary film Virunga. He and his team received the Goldman Environmental prize for this undercover work in 2017. To this day, IUCN NL still works very closely with him through the Green Livelihoods Alliance as he continues to put his life on the line to protect Virunga National Park. 

Allée des Baobabs Protection and Management Team 

10 members of the Allée des Baobabs Protection and Management Team, form Madagascar,  were nominated for fearlessly protecting Madagascar’s forests from fire and human pressures. Fanamby, the non-profit organisation that manages Allée des Baobabs actually was the first organisation to receive a grant from IUCN NL in Madagascar, and also a trusted partner during our Shared Resources Joint Solutions programme, which ran from 2016 to 2020.ran from 2016 to 2020.