UK gives £2m to help protect threatened wildlife species
UK AID money is being used to protect threatened wildlife such as orangutans, tigers and chimpanzees, the Government said.
More than £2m is going to projects to provide communities with alternatives to clearing forests or hunting wildlife to make a living, such as “green” rubber production or forest-friendly cocoa.
A scheme in Indonesia will help to create 16,000 sustainable jobs for people who live near the habitats of endangered wildlife such as the Sumatran tiger, the Department for International Development said.
And in Liberia, West Africa, efforts to provide sustainable livelihoods aim to help protect forests and species such as the West African chimpanzee.
It is hoped the schemes, part of a Partnerships for Forests programme which UK aid is funding to the tune £56.5 million, will tackle some of the underlying causes of the illegal wildlife trade and the destruction of forests.
Making the announcement at London Zoo ahead of an international conference on the illegal wildlife trade in the capital next month, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said that only by working with local communities would endangered wildlife be protected.
Three projects totalling £2.1m include two in Indonesia’s Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape, home to endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger, only 30 to 40 of which remain in the landscape, the orangutan and the Asian elephant.
Ms Mordaunt said: “The illegal wildlife trade and the destruction of forests and natural habitats are having a catastrophic impact on both iconic wildlife and the world’s poorest people. Nobody wants to see extraordinary species become extinct.”