Annual Review 2019 Registered Charity 1001291
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019 REGISTERED CHARITY 1001291 worldlandtrust.org A YEAR TO REMEMBER A FEW WORDS FROM Dr Gerard Bertrand Steve Backshall, MBE Hon President, WLT Patron For WLT so many years of the last three decades have been marked by One Wild Night 2019 outstanding progress in conservation. In December, Steve Backshall hosted This past year, however, was a magnificent evening at the Royal remarkable because the Trust recorded Geographical Society. its largest number and diversity of Playing to a packed house, Steve conservation projects throughout the welcomed on stage some of the UK’s world. The Trust truly is making a leading adventurers, explorers and difference for wildlife from Southeast sports personalities including his wife, Asia to Africa to the Americas. Helen Glover, Baroness Tanni Grey- the Río Zuñac appeal we launched on the Thompson, Dan Snow, Professor Ben evening to purchase cloud forest in It was also the year of successful Garrod, Phoebe Smith and Dwayne Ecuador has reached its fundraising transition from our incomparable Fields. Monty Don compered the target. Because of your support, WLT and founders John and Viv Burton to new evening and young environmental Fundación EcoMinga can expand the Trust leadership. The Trust is fortunate activist, Bella Lack spoke passionately reserve, securing it for the species that to have attracted an outstanding about the threats facing the planet and live here. conservationist, Dr. Jonathan Barnard as solutions within our grasp. We all know that we need to do the new Chief Executive to lead WLT. something to protect our planet. I believe The past three decades seem to have Steve says: the most practical step we can take is to flown by since John Burton and I “One Wild Night was filled with inspiring continue purchasing these remote hatched the plan to build a new stories of conservation and adventure in wildernesses, placing them in the hands organisation in the UK to support the wild world. And now I’m delighted to of local conservationists devoted to conservation efforts in Belize. The be able to share the exciting news that safeguarding their future.” success of Programme for Belize, to save a beautiful and threatened series At a time when every positive action Read more about Río Zuñac of ecosystems, would soon be followed to protect wildlife is critical, I look on page 6 by other urgent conservation challenges forward to seeing what WLT will across the world. Right from the accomplish going forward. We all can beginning the Trust’s key attributes have feel comfortable in our continued been good judgment when choosing support now when wildlife needs our projects and the ability to take rapid help more than ever. and decisive action with a minimum of overhead cost and delay. Those same characteristics apply to WLT today. Black-and-chestnut Eagle (Endangered) nests on the reserve in Ecuador. worldlandtrust.org 2 2019 IN SUMMARY CELEBRATING THE TRUST’S MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR Welcoming returned to Belize to save ‘Jungle for even more to permanently protect new CEO, Jaguars’. The latter was particularly habitats and their species. Dr Jonathan fitting given that WLT was founded with As we look forward to 2020 we are Barnard our first appeal in Belize exactly thirty reaffirming commitments to the special years ago. places you have so generously supported It was a year notable for the enormous in the past, as well as welcoming surge in public awareness and concern exciting new partnerships to WLT, about the climate and the wildlife crises. bringing our unique approach to saving 2019 began marvellously for World Land WLT saw a swell of momentum with more of the world’s threatened habitats Trust with our first special appeal of the supporters choosing us as an organisation and species. year, ‘Save the Blue-throated Hillstar’, that is doing something tangible to turn On a personal note, I was delighted reaching its fundraising target within just things around. The result has been a to join WLT in 2019, and I am two weeks. This success set the scene for growth in both number of donors, and enormously excited by the year ahead. the whole year. amazing generosity which saw us closing I am certain that with your continued Among a year of highlights, WLT’s the year by surpassing our previous support we can do even more to protect following special appeals saved donations record. In turn this our natural world. Thank you for being threatened forests in Kenya, enabled overwhelming support enabled us to part of this vital work. pioneering reforestation in Vietnam and fund our partners across the globe to do WLT supports habitat conservation and restoration projects worldwide with a network of local partner organisations, through six key programmes: Action Fund, Buy an Acre, Carbon Balanced, Keepers of the Wild, Plant a Tree and Special Appeals. belize: 1,818 ACRES ARMENIA: 28,132 ACRES INDIA: 778 Acres HONDURAS: 692 ACRES . MEXICO: 301 acres . ... Guatemala: 1,512 acres . ECUADOR: 1,604 ACRES COLOMBIA: 1,292 ACRES . ... .. Borneo: 17.5 acres . BOLIVIA: See footnote . Zambia: 938 acres BRAZIL: 370 acres . Kenya: 608 acres 39,000 TREES PLANTED In Bolivia WLT also supported partners and the Guaraní Charagua Iyambae autonomous government . ONGOING PROTECTION in the legal protection of two areas protecting a total of 4,657,120 acres (1,884,670 hectares) Supporting habitat protection and restoration worldwide, through a network of impressive local conservation partner organisations, in 22 countries. 3 worldlandtrust.org WHAT WE ACHIEVED IN 2019 Threatened Tanzanian wildlife protected by new 6,425 acre reserve A rich forest teeming with unique and villagers will also benefit from endangered wildlife in Tanzania is entrance fees paid by tourists to protected, thanks to support from visit the forest. WLT’s Action Fund and other partners. Members of the Udzungwa Forest The new Magombera Nature Reserve now Project (UFP) team. The aim of the protects 6,425 acres (2,600 hectares) of project is to better protect tropical tropical forest and grassland, managed by forests through ecological the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group monitoring, community education, (TFCG). Without acquiring this land and capacity building and lobbying. creating the reserve, this important UFP is based mostly in the habitat was destined to become a sugar Magombera forest, on the east side plantation, with a huge loss of species. of the Udzungwa Mountains in Magombera forest is internationally Tanzania. recognised for its diverse landscapes and unique wildlife. It is home to African The Endangered Magombera megafauna like African Elephants and Chameleon was only discovered in Hippopotamus, and has been identified as 2009; it depends on the one of the top 20 Priority Primate Areas in Magombera forest for its survival. Tanzania, and until now has been the only one without protected status. At least five primate species occur: Udzungwa Red Colobus (Endangered), Angolan Black and White Colobus, Sykes’s Monkey, Greater Bushbaby and Udzungwa Galago. In addition to the benefits such as regulating climate, preventing flooding, and maintaining soil fertility for crops, Carbon Balanced projects offset emissions WLT’s Carbon Balanced programme Biodiversity offsets emissions by protecting The core mission of WLT and our partners threatened habitats that would is to secure the long-term protection of otherwise have been lost, avoiding the critically threatened habitats and the release of stored carbon. This also enables species they support. the regeneration of degraded habitats, All WLT Carbon Balanced project sites which gradually re-absorb atmospheric are of outstanding importance for species CO . 2 diversity. It is fortuitous that many of the One of WLT’s Carbon Balanced projects In a warmer climate, it is predicted world’s most important wildlife habitats, is offsetting carbon emissions in that tropical ecosystems will be able to notably tropical forests, also contain vast Annamite Lowland Forest in Vietnam, store less carbon than they do now, so quantities of carbon in their vegetation working with partner, Viet Nature. urgent action is required. and soils. WLT’s Carbon Balanced projects are offsetting CO2 emissions in Ecuador (tropical forest), Guatemala (Caribbean coast), Paraguay (Atlantic Forest and Chaco Pantanal), Vietnam (Annamite Lowland Forest). For more information please visit worldlandtrust.org/what-we-do/carbon-balanced worldlandtrust.org 4 WHAT WE ACHIEVED IN 2019 SPECIAL APPEALS RAISED: £867,000 FOR KEY HABITATS VIETNAM. RAISED £575,000 to restore forests that had been devastated by Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Phase One sees 120,000 trees being planted across a total of 246 acres (100 hectares) as a first step towards Viet Nature’s aim of restoring 3,500 acres (1,416 hectares) in Bac Huong Hoa Nature Reserve. KENYA. RAISED £81,000 to save 810 acres (328 hectares) of Dakatcha Woodland, part of Kenya’s threatened coastal forest. Habitat for endangered small wonders like Clarke’s Weaver, Sokoke Scops Owl and the Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew was secured. We hope to save more of this forest in 2020. Jungle for Jaguars Protecting their home. Safeguarding their future. BELIZE. RAISED £181,000: In 2018 WLT announced the successful conclusion to fundraising for the Jungle for Jaguars appeal, saving 8,154 acres (3,300 hectares) of threatened forest in Belize to form a corridor of continuous habitat between Shipstern Conservation & Management Area, Honey Camp National Park and Freshwater Creek Forest Reserve. In 2019 funds were raised to purchase a further 1,818 acres (736 hectares) to add to the corridor. Save the Blue-throated Hillstar Urgent action needed for newly discovered hummingbird species ECUADOR. RAISED £30,000 to protect 70,000 acres (28,000 hectares) of habitat for the Blue-throated Hillstar, a Critically Endangered hummingbird found only in a small series of mountain tops in the western Andes of southern Ecuador.