GREEN HOSTING at firstserv

World Land Trust / firstserv partnership

Firstserv are proud to Carbon Balance with and support the World Land Trust with our Green Hosting program.

About the World Land Trust and its projects.

The World Land Trust is a registered charity; its Patrons are Sir David Attenborough OM CH FRS and David Gower OBE.

The Mission of the World Land Trust is to:

• protect and sustainably manage natural ecosystems of the World. To conserve their biodiversity with emphasis on threatened habitats and endangered species.
• develop partnerships with local individuals, communities and organisations to engage support and commitment among the people who live in project areas,
• raise awareness in the UK, and elsewhere, of the need for conservation to improve understanding and generate support through education, information and fundraising.

The World Land Trust has been saving wildlife, acre by acre, since 1989. WLT is a UK-based international charity that works in conjunction with local partners, to buy and protect threatened habitats which are vital to the survival of threatened and endemic species. Nearly 400,000 acres of tropical forests, wetlands and grasslands have been purchased and are being protected, and over 2-million acres more are being protected for conservation. WLT always works in partnership with local Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) in whom the ownership is vested; WLT works with them to protect and manage the land for conservation.

These are Real Acres in Real Places: you can find them on maps and you can even visit them.

How does WLT decide on which land to save?

When selecting new projects, a number of specific criteria are evaluated to ensure that it falls within the WLT’s mission, and practical considerations are also taken into account. The most important aspect of any WLT project is its Conservation Value: what is the biodiversity within the proposed project area? What is the level of threat of individual species? The size of the reserve, and whether it connects with other wildlife reserves to create a greater network of protected areas, is a priority also. Would training for local people, and sustainability programmes, contribute to the long-term protection of the reserve? Other criteria, such as the location, the likelihood of success and the absence of adequate funding from other sources, are also very important, and WLT always considers suggestions from supporters and the potential for fundraising.

The WLT’s Action Fund is currently supporting these urgent projects:

BRAZIL: local partner: Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Assu (REGUA)

The Atlantic Rainforest is internationally recognised as one of the highest priorities for conservation. Although less than 7% survives, it is estimated to have up to 8,000 endemic plant species and 600 endemic species of terrestrial vertebrates. WLT is working with REGUA to save as much as possible of what is left and has already transferred funds towards the purchase of 17,300 acres.

ECUADOR: local Partners: Fundación Jocotoco and Fundación Ecominga

Ecuador contains 17% of the world’s total number of bird species: 1,600, but there is little protected land in the south and west of the country, where many of rarest bird species are only managing to hang on in diminishing patches of unprotected habitat. Fundación Jocotoco’s eight reserves protect unique habitats and most connect to existing protected areas to safeguard species that migrate altitudinally. They also protect hundreds of Red Data Book plant species as well as a spectacular number of mammals including Puma, Jaguar, Ocelot, Howler Monkey and Sloth. WLT is also working with Fundación Ecominga to protect a vital corridor between the Los Llangantes and Sangay National Parks in central Ecuador. This is a global hotspot for Teagueia orchids and the cloud forest and paramo habitats are home to Spectacled Bear, Mountain Tapirs and several monkey species.

INDIA: local partner: Wildlife Trust of India (WTI)

With only 20,000 Indian Elephants left in the wild urgent action is needed to protect corridors between reserve areas to enable elephants to move safely, using their traditional migratory routes. WLT is currently working with WTI to protect the Tirunelli-Kudrakote corridor in Kerala. This is one of 88 corridors urgently in need of protection throughout India, and these corridors will save not just elephants, but Tigers, Clouded Leopard and other cat species as well as a wealth of other wildlife.

PARAGUAY: local partner: Guyra Paraguay

Paraguay is a country of contrasts with several eco-regions of global importance, and WLT is helping fund land purchase in the Atlantic Rainforest, Pantanal wetlands and Dry Chaco. All these habitats are threatened, primarily by the spread of agriculture, and in particular the growing market for biofuels and soya. Paraguay is a mecca for wildlife which urgently need protection for their survival.

BORNEO: local partner: Orang-utan Appeal: LEAP Conservancy

In response to the desperate plight of the Orang-utan in SE Asia, WLT launched an urgent appeal for funds in the autumn of 2008. This successfully raised funds for the first parcel of strategically placed forest adjacent to the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah. This region is the focus of WLT’s project as 10% of Sabah’s Orang-utans survive here and the forests are being relentlessly cleared and turned into oil palm plantations. By purchasing pockets of land between existing sanctuaries there is a real opportunity to save sustainable areas for Orang-utans to live safely and breed. The forest corridors will also help protect other endangered species including Bornean Pygmy Elephant, Malayan Sun Bear, Clouded Leopard, Proboscis Monkey and 9 other species of primates as well as birds including Storm’s Stork and eight hornbill species.

All WLT’s carbon projects are designed and managed in collaboration with our in-country project partners. Each project has been carefully selected and designed to take a holistic approach, considering additional benefits such as biodiversity, ecological restoration, community benefits and sustainable development, all of which give a much greater value and permanence to the projects. All restoration ecology are all located on the advancing agricultural frontier of forests, in places where there is an imminent threat of further deforestation. By saving and restoring these habitats, adjacent to WLT’s existing reserves, it means that the reserves are increased in size and protected for animals to roam safely and breed.