Mohammad Bin Zayed fund aims at conservation

Barcelona: A new fund that places conservation of species at the forefront of the environmental debate was announced on the sidelines of the World Conservation Congress (WCC) on Thursday.

The Mohammad Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is a 25 million euro (Dh128 million) endowment fund established by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who hopes to make a genuine contribution to species conservation worldwide when the Fund's operations commence by January 2009.

Speaking at the WCC, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of the Emirates Wildlife Society, said: "It is not just species, but species conservation as a whole that is endangered. And by that, I don't mean the threats facing individual species and habitats, but the predicament facing species conservation as a discipline, and its declining status as an environmental priority.

"Too often, species conservation is expected to benefit from the trickle-down effect of our efforts to address the world's 'bigger picture' environmental issues, and is not being addressed in its own right," she said.

"Challenges to the cause are well-documented and include the lack of funds, basic support for people on the frontline and the focus of environmental debates moving towards climate change," she added.

The Fund will provide targeted grants to individual species conservation initiatives, recognise leaders in the field and elevate the importance of species in the broader conservation debate.

Its focus will be global, and eligibility for grants will extend to all plant and animal species conservation efforts, without discrimination on the basis of region or selected species.

It also aims to reduce the unwieldy processes usually associated with donations, especially for smaller projects where a red tape can negate the benefits of a contribution. Responses to applications will be returned within three months of their receipt.