
Water & Species Conservation
The Foundation focuses on areas of critical biodiversity that are at particular risk from human development and support programs which promote sustainable land use initiatives, more efficient agricultural practices, better fishing initiatives, livelihood alternatives, and enhanced water quality, in order to mitigate the effects of population growth, human development, and climate change.
Large Mammal Species
particularly African Elephants
The Foundation supports programs to reduce the poaching of African elephants, reduce the demand for ivory sales in China, and shut down markets for illegal wildlife trafficking. By focusing on large mammals, this effort also serves to protect vast expanses of habitat and the larger ecosystem of species on the continent.
Grantee Spotlight: African Wildlife Foundation
awf.org
African Wildlife Foundation recognizes that the survival of Africa’s wildlife depends on its relationship with people. Whether it is humans poaching wildlife or wildlife attacking people’s livestock, it’s a problem that cuts both ways, and one of the biggest challenges is reducing conflict between people and wildlife. Their lawyers, scientists, policymakers, and staff work on the ground to address issues that put habitats at risk—from land-use laws and agricultural growth to settlement patterns and political instability. AWF’s programs aim to help Africa navigate the path to modernization with its wildlife and wild lands intact through holistic programs focused on people, wildlife, and land. People: AWF works to improve the lives of Africa’s people by providing access to education and enterprise.
Wildlife: Science and pragmatism are the two keys to AWF’s wildlife protection programs, allowing it to ensure that the most critical and ecologically important populations of Africa’s fauna will survive into the future. AWF supports anti-poaching and ecological monitoring, boosts law enforcement efforts, reduces demand for wildlife products, and minimizes human-wildlife conflict. Land: The best way to ensure Africa’s wildlife survives is to conserve large ecologically rich landscapes, and connect isolated pockets of protected areas with protected corridors. AWF assists wildlife authorities in better managing their protected areas and provides incentives for communities to keep habitats intact. The Foundation has funded AWF initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya.
Grantee Spotlight: Wildlife Conservation Society
wcs.org
Founded in 1895, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS’s goal is to conserve the world’s largest wild places in 16 priority regions across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, home to more than 50% of the world’s biodiversity. WCS targets large, iconic, wide-ranging wildlife for their own intrinsic value, because they are vital to ecosystem health, and because by saving them, we protect all other biodiversity that shelters under their conservation canopy.
WCS runs the world’s largest great ape, elephant, and tiger field conservation programs, investing in saving key populations within their strongholds and the corridors that connect them. WCS is working around the globe to protect elephants across their ranges and in many of their remaining strongholds. We take a multifaceted approach to elephant conservation with targeted tactics that are backed by science and proven effective. Our methods can be boiled down to three key objectives: Stop the killing, stop the trafficking, and stop the demand. The Foundation has funded WCS initiatives in China, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique.