World Land Trust
{{Short description|British registered charity}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = World Land Trust
| image = World_Land_Trust_logo.jpg
| type = registered charity
| founded_date = 1989
| founders = John Burton
Gerard Bertrand
| vat_id =
| registration_id = 1001291
| location = Halesworth, Suffolk, United Kingdom
| origins =
| key_people = Catherine Barnard, CEO
| area_served = worldwide
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| revenue = £10 million (2023)
| endowment =
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| homepage = {{url|worldlandtrust.org}}
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World Land Trust is a UK registered charity. Acting on its tagline of "Saving Land, Saving Species", the trust raises money to buy and then protect environmentally-threatened land, and therefore species, in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Since 1989, 1.1 million ha have been directly saved across all WLT programmes. A further 1.3 million ha have been co-funded by WLT. At the time of writing, 2,361,353 ha have been protected by WLT partners in all and 11,452,226 ha have been connected by WLT-funded corridors and extensions.
History
The trust was founded in 1989 as the Programme for Belize to raise money to privately buy land in Belize to protect tropical rain forests in collaboration with Massachusetts Audubon Society.{{Cite journal|last=Goodier|first=John|date=May 2001|title=The Environment Encyclopedia and Directory 2001, 3rd edition. London: Europa Publications 2001. 622 pp, {{text|ISBN}}: 1 85743 089 1 £250.00|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/rr.2001.15.5.27.275|journal=Reference Reviews|volume=15|issue=5|pages=27|doi=10.1108/rr.2001.15.5.27.275|issn=0950-4125|url-access=subscription}} The organisation later changed its name to the World Wide Land Conservation Trust, and then to World Land Trust. John Burton was chief executive for thirty years until 2019, when Catherine Barnard took over.[https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/john-burton-steps-down-world-land-trust-chief-executive-30-years/management/article/1592885 "John Burton steps down as World Land Trust chief executive after 30 years"]. ThirdSector. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
The Trust has since developed to help purchase and conserve land in 30 countries worldwide and had an annual income of £10 million in 2023.
The patrons of the trust are Sir David Attenborough, Steve Backshall, Chris Packham, and David Gower.{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldlandtrust.org/about/patrons|title = Patrons}} Supporters include Bill Oddie, Tony Hawks, Mark Carwardine and Nick Baker.{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldlandtrust.org/documents/news/GreenInk.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=12 April 2015 |archive-date=19 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419023450/http://www.worldlandtrust.org/documents/news/GreenInk.pdf |url-status=dead }}
Projects
Projects include:
- purchase since 2007 of Atlantic forest in Brazil to expand the Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçu, with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums{{Cite web |title=Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu {{!}} Atlantic Forest, Brazil |url=https://regua.org/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |language=en-GB}}
- purchase of land now incorporated into the Buenaventura Reserve, working with Fundacion de Conservacion Jocotoco{{Cite web|title=Welcome to the Nikwax blog » Nikwax supports World Land Trust urgent land purchase and protection projects|url=https://blog.nikwax.com/blog/2013/10/07/worldlandtrust/|access-date=2 July 2020|language=en-US}}
- acquisition of about {{convert|190|ha|acre|abbr=on}} of Chocó rainforest at the Las Tangaras Bird Reserve and protect the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis) at the Rana Terribilis Amphibian Reserve in Colombia, with Fundación ProAves; £50,000 raised by Steve Backshall{{Cite web|date=19 December 2015|title=Celebrity Steve Backshall raises £50,000 for World Land Trust|url=https://www.discoveranimals.co.uk/news/celebrity-steve-backshall-raises-50000-for-world-land-trust/|access-date=2 July 2020|website=Discover Animals|language=en-US}}
- establishment of Indian elephant corridors in India, working with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands, Elephant Family and Wildlife Trust of India.{{Cite web|last=allenshaji|date=30 April 2017|title=RIGHT OF PASSAGE: NATIONAL ELEPHANT CORRIDORS PROJECT|url=https://www.wti.org.in/projects/right-of-passage/|access-date=2 July 2020|website=Wildlife Trust of India|language=en-US}}
- research in Iran on the Iranian subspecies of cheetah, with the Iranian Cheetah Society.{{Cite web|last=Askarieh|first=Emad|date=9 March 2015|title=Video by Iranian Cheetah Society nominated for top prize in WLT competition|url=https://ifpnews.com/image-by-iranian-cheetah-society-nominated-for-top-prize-in-wlt-competition|access-date=2 July 2020|website=Iran Front Page|language=En}}
- raising £1 million to purchase land to connect two protected areas of rainforest and create an Orangutan corridor in Malaysian Borneo, with LEAP and Hutan{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-suffolk-27455119/world-land-trust-charity-secures-orangutans-habitat|title=Forest land secured for orangutans|work=BBC News|language=en|access-date=23 October 2018}}
- purchase of land at Sierra Gorda in Mexico, with Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda{{Cite web|title=Celebrating Land Conservation – Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda IAP|url=https://sierragorda.net/en/celebrando-la-conservacion-de-tierras-2/|access-date=2 July 2020|language=en-US}}
- implementation of a REDD+ project in the Atlantic Forest of Paraguay with Guyra Paraguay{{Cite web|author=BirdLife International|title=Forests of Hope site - San Rafael, Paraguay|url=https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/projects/forests-hope-site-san-rafael-paraguay|access-date=2 July 2020|website=BirdLife|language=en-us}}
- establishment of the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Project on Danjugan Island{{Cite news|title=William Oliver|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2014/09/29/william-oliver|access-date=2 July 2020|issn=0013-0613}}
- Kites Hill Reserve, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, which was donated to the Trust and is managed as a nature reserve{{Cite web|title=Kites Hill Woodland Project|url=https://www.outdoorconservation.eu/project-detail.cfm?projectid=10|access-date=2 July 2020|website=Kites Hill Woodland Project|language=en}}
- Jungle for Jaguars campaign to raise £600,000 for Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative to purchase and protect {{convert|33|km2|mi2|abbr=on|comma=off}} in Belize{{Cite news|url=https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2018/10/03/jungle-habitat-for-jaguars-in-belize-under-threat-of-deforestation/|title=Jungle habitat for jaguars in Belize under threat of deforestation|date=3 October 2018|work=Breaking Belize News-The Leading Online News Source of Belize|access-date=23 October 2018|language=en-US}}
- management of the conservatory Wyld Court (now The Living Rainforest) - a tropical forest exhibit, in Hampstead Norreys.{{Cite web|last=Markham|first=Jackie|date=6 September 2016|title=David Bellamy is wowed by the rainforest|url=https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/gallery/nostalgia/19179/david-bellamy-is-wowed-by-the-rainforest.html|access-date=1 July 2020|website=Newbury Today}}
References
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Category:Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom