Rainforest Trust Celebrates Conserving 70 Million Amazon Acres
The NGO recently aided in the creation of a 715,000-acre wildlife reserve in Bolivia along the Iténez River, considered by scientists to be a “link of life;” and is just a small part of the giant mosaic of Amazon territory the Rainforest Trust has helped conserve.
This 800-mile river - most of which forms the northeast border between Bolivia and Brazil - is home to jaguar, Amazon River dolphins, giant otters, lowland tapirs, black caimans, and 25 species of fish which are found nowhere else. Faunagua, a Bolivian NGO working with Rainforest Trust, calls it one of the most important transboundary conservation areas in the Amazon.
Rainforest Trust celebrated the moment for a trio of reasons: it meant that the organization’s work has directly supported the protection of 70 million acres (109,375 sq. miles) of rainforest - an area roughly the size of Nevada, New Zealand or Italy; that 10 million of these acres have been added in just 8 months; and that a crucial Bolivian ecosystem would be preserved for the posterity of Bolivians and animals alike.
“Protecting 10 million additional acres in just seven months shows what is possible when we match the urgency of the biodiversity crisis with ambition and strong local partnerships,” said James Deutsch, CEO of Rainforest Trust.
“As 2030 approaches, the world has pledged to protect 30% of the planet. At Rainforest Trust, our focus is on helping protect the most imperiled 30%, specifically, the places where conservation can make the greatest difference for species, ecosystems, and people. Seventy million acres is a remarkable milestone, but it makes us more determined to go further and faster.”
Photographer's Striking Wildlife Images Raise Huge Sum For Conservation: Sweden-born Björn Persson is a fine art photographer who is best known for his images of wildlife, which are designed to engage people into helping to protect the natural world.
