In a year when so many events have been cancelled or postponed, it’s refreshing to find one key conservation ceremony is still going ahead.

Although the 2020 Tusk Conservation Awards will be very different to last November’s gala performance, attended by the charity’s royal patron Prince William, the candidates nominated for a gong are just as impressive.

Focusing on the extraordinary individuals who have dedicated their lives to protecting Africa’s wildlife and wilderness areas, the awards, in partnership with Ninety One, will be live streamed online this year.

Three people have been shortlisted for the Tusk Award For Conservation In Africa, sponsored by Land Rover, which shines a spotlight on emerging talents within the conservation world. All work within popular tourism areas, keeping a careful watch on Africa’s safari stars, and their contributions have been even more valuable at a time when funds generated by tourism have disappeared.

On December 3, the night of the awards, recipients of The Prince William Award For Conservation In Africa, sponsored by Ninety One, and the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award, sponsored by the Nick Maughan Foundation, will also be announced.

Winners receive a cash prize to invest in their projects, but the kudos of gaining global recognition is a prize no amount of money can buy.

Meet the three Tusk Award For Conservation finalists.

Ian Stevenson, Zambia

Most mornings, keen pilot Ian Stevenson can be seen flying his light aircraft along the Zambezi River, cutting through a rosy haze to search for any signs of disruption on the valley floor below.

At present, the scene is almost idyllic; impalas bound through sage-green tunnels of winter thorn trees, and elephants meander along the dusty banks.

But only a few years ago, poaching incidents regularly shattered the peace.

“In 2015 alone, we lost 107 elephants,” recalls Ian, who left a career in tourism to pursue conservation work and is now CEO of NGO Conservation Lower Zambezi.

Fortunately, largely due to the efforts of Ian and his team, last year that horrifying statistic was reduced to one.

Shocked by the sight of poached carcasses in the Serengeti 33 years ago, Australian-born Ian vowed to protect the species ever since. “I’ve always had a real thing for elephants,” he admits.

Now he believes habitat protection is key to their survival, saying: “This is one of the big strongholds of elephants left in Africa. We’ve got to maintain these big ecosystems.”

How: Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent.co.uk; 01242 547 760) offers an 11-night full-board Active Zambia trip, including the Lower Zambezi,  from £7,775pp (two sharing). Includes flights, transfers and a hot air balloon ride. Visits can be arranged to Conservation Lower Zambezi.

John Kamanga, Kenya

Dry, hot and dusty, semi-arid pastures at the foothills of Kenya’s Shompole Mountain belong to one of the last remaining strongholds of communal Maasai land.

Connecting the Amboseli and Masai Mara ecosystems, the absence of boundaries and fences creates a corridor allowing animals to move at ease. Shared ownership, believes grassroots conservationist John Kamanga, also benefits the many, rather than the few.

The son of a pastoralist, John grew up in this area on the border with Tanzania but split his time with schooling in Nairobi. The first member of his family to receive a formal education, he learned to straddle two worlds.

Although he never a planned a career in conservation, he admits, “it was always a hope”, and claims his father gave a firm foundation for understanding and protecting the landscape – knowing which areas to graze and how to respect wildlife.

As executive director and founder of the South Rift Association Of Land Owners (SORALO), a collective of Maasai group ranches, his key aim is to empower communities as custodians of their natural environments.

He’s already helped to establish the Shompole Conservancy, where several tourist lodges operate. Along with lions, caracals and pink flamingos flocking to nearby soda lakes, the attraction is being immersed in a traditional, indigenous way of life.

“We have to start bringing communities to the fore of conservation,” he says.

How: The six-tent Shompole Wildnerness camp is available for exclusive use hire. POA. Visit shompolewilderness.com.

George Owoyesigire, Uganda

Tourists flock to national parks for sightings of wildlife, but for communities living on the boundaries of these protected areas, animals aren’t always so appealing.

As populations explode across Africa, human development increasingly encroaches on wilderness areas, and conflict with crop-raiding elephants is one of the biggest concerns.

Caring for both creatures and communities, George Owoyesigire, Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Deputy Director for Community Conservation, has come up with a clever solution.

After reading about a pilot study carried out in northern Kenya, he helped to successfully set up 400 productive beehives around Kibale National Park, an evergreen rainforest in Western Uganda, to act as a wall of defence.

“The bees sting the softer parts of the elephant around the trunk, the eyes and the ears, causing temporary swelling and pain,” he explains.

Along with reducing crop raids by 80%, the project has several other benefits: it’s helping to regenerate the endangered population of African honeybees and is also boosting revenue for local economies through the sale of honey.

Making the link between poverty and poaching, George believes benefits must outweigh costs for communities to care about the wildlife living on their doorsteps.

How: Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent.co.uk; 01242 547 760) offers an 11-night full-board Classic Uganda trip, including a visit to Kibale, from £6,520pp (two sharing). Includes flights, transfers, and gorilla permits.

The awards will be streamed at 6pm on December 3 through tuskawards.com or Tusk’s Facebook and Instagram channels. Ethiopian Airlines are supporters of conservation, flying to destinations across Africa from London and Manchester via Addis Ababa. Visit ethiopianairlines.com.