The inexorable depletion of the world’s biodiversity continues apace. Species are being driven to extinction at an unprecedented rate. Around 80% of the forests that originally covered the Earth have been cleared, fragmented, or degraded over the past 150 years. In the face of such challenges, Fauna & Flora International programmes recorded many noteworthy achievements in 2005, and spent 13% more on its conservation activities than in the previous year. Download our 2005 annual accounts and conservation highlights.
We continued to build conservation capacity to help our partners achieve their conservation targets. Protected areas staff received support in Croatia, Cambodia, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Belize.
Aligning biodiversity with human needs is one of the greatest challenges facing conservationists, requiring management solutions that meet the needs of biodiversity conservation and human development simultaneously. In 2005 over 500 local beneficiaries received direct training to enhance their livelihoods or organizational capabilities.
Ensuring species and ecosystem security calls for direct intervention on behalf of endangered species and habitats. From a population that once numbered over 100,000 breeding females, fewer than 1,500 leatherback turtles now nest on Pacific beaches. In 2005 our turtle team in Nicaragua protected almost all leatherback nests on Chacocente’s beaches and began to develop a strategy for turtle protection along Nicaragua’s Pacific coast.
Conservation policy and behaviour determines how nature is perceived and valued. Fauna & Flora International began work on a Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment in the Great Lakes Region, in partnership with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, to analyse links between conservation and conflict. Following the Asian tsunami, huge demand for timber put great pressure on forest resources. We received nearly US$10 million to bind environmental protection to livelihood development.
Our policy of active engagement with the corporate sector, to bridge business and biodiversity, continued to reap rewards for conservation. We began embedding biodiversity considerations into the operations of British American Tobacco. In Brazil and Madagascar we assessed the operations of extractive industries, implementing biodiversity monitoring protocols. We also undertook a benchmarking study on the environmental performance of a range of extractive industry companies.
In the United States, we continued to build strong momentum, nearly doubling income for our programmes. Our constituency of foundation, individual and US Government partners continued to grow and supported many Fauna & Flora International projects including anti-poaching tiger operations in Sumatra, protection of marine turtle nesting beaches in Nicaragua and monitoring of great apes in Africa. We also began developing strategic alliances with universities, zoos and other non-profit organizations to deliver technical and financial support to our teams worldwide.
“Investment in the work of FFI is, truly, an investment in the planet.” – Sir David Attenborough, FFI Vice President. Please join FFI today.
FFI’s magazine, Fauna & Flora, examines themes that effect our work worldwide and includes interviews, notes from field teams and species profiles. Join FFI and receive your copy.
