It's the economy stupid: The impact of the falling pound on conservation

Today I signed some transfers of funds to our partners in South America, and the international financial situation hit home. Whereas a year back the exchange rate was $2 to £1.00, we are only getting $1.4 for each pound now; a huge drop.

The biggest problem of the economic recession is not falling donations (everyone is being as generous as they can), but the collapse of the pound. The falling exchange rates has meant that in many of the places where the World Land Trust operates we have fewer dollars to spend. Unlike many businesses, conservation organisations cannot always afford to sit out the recession and wait for the pound to recover. We need to act NOW.

The upside of the current situation is that land prices have appeared to stop rising at the same rate, and may even start to fall.