Abu Dhabi: Since its inception to date, the Mohammad Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund has offered Dh58.8 million in grants, benefiting more than 1,677 projects, it was announced on Sunday.

According to statistics released by the fund, more than 150 countries around the world have benefited from the fund’s grants, which contributed to protecting 1,133 species.

Established in 2008, the fund, through its grants, has supported various studies and projects dedicated to the protection and rehabilitation of endangered species in Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas.

The grants have covered projects tailored for amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, fungi, fish, plants, and other living organisms. The lion’s share of the grants, at $6.3 million (Dh23 million), have gone to projects to protect mammals.

The fund focuses on supporting projects for protecting various endangered species especially those listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. It also offers strong financial support for species that have been neglected or have not been evaluated.

Moreover, the fund offers grants for all efforts being made for the conservation of plant and animal species without discrimination or bias to geographic locations or species. It also provides small grants ranging from $5000 to 25,000, for local projects to cover as wide a range of conservation efforts as possible.

The Mohammad Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is also financing numerous local and international projects and efforts ranging from the search for the rare Omani dragonfly along the east coast of the UAE and Oman, to tracking a rare wild cat in the Himalayas to boost its conservation, and to conducting a relief manoeuvre to save dozens of wild crocodiles from extinction by transferring them quickly to a safe habitat due to a project being executed to build a dam to generate electricity on the river where they live.

Individuals, organisations or community institutions conducting small species conservation projects can also get approximately Dh92,000 in grants.