US$13.6 million for elephant, rhino conservation

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) awarded over $13.6 million in Multinational Species Conservation grant funding for 216 projects in 2010 through its Wildlife Without Borders program to provide support for conservation efforts for Asian and African elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, great apes, and marine turtles around the globe.

In recognition of an unprecedented international decline of certain flagship species, the U.S. Congress established the Multinational Species Conservation Funds, which are dedicated to saving some of the world’s fastest disappearing and most treasured animals in their natural habitats.

The Service administers these funds through the Wildlife Without Borders Species Programs, awarding grants to efforts aimed at conserving globally-valued endangered species found outside U.S. borders.

“These grants provide vital support for the conservation of some of the world’s most endangered and charismatic animals.” said Service’s acting Director Rowan Gould.

The funds help support community conservation efforts, anti-poaching and law enforcement initiatives, mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts and capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, outreach and education, promoting wildlife health, partnership building and protected area management, along with a wide variety of other essential conservation activities.

In 2010, the multinational species conservation funds were used to leverage over $18 million in matching funds resulting in over $33 million being provided to help to conserve African and Asian elephants, rhinos, tigers, great apes and marine turtles throughout the world.

Examples of these projects include: providing emergency protection to African elephants in Gabon by implementing training programs and supplies for anti-poaching missions; translocating rhinos from an area of high human-wildlife conflict to Manas National Park in India; mitigating the impacts of roads on tigers and their prey to reduce casualties in Malaysia; improving law enforcement and monitoring of Asian elephants to reduce poaching in Thailand; protecting and safeguarding the largest known population of eastern chimpanzees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and protecting hawksbill marine turtle nesting populations in Nicaragua through beach patrols and nest monitoring.