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World Land Trust Press Releases
Press releases from the World Land Trust, an international conservation organisation working to preserve the world's most biologically important and threatened lands.
This page shows the most recent World Land Trust press releases. To see older press releases, use the press release archive in the navigation bar on this page.
Press releases on this page:
Spectacular New Species of Tree Named in Honour of Sir David Attenborough
The Great Ape Debate
Endangered Wildlife Inspire 'Rising Gems' at Coutts London Jewellery Week 2009
Hummingbirds Set to Fly Out of Sotheran's, Piccadilly
Credit Crunch Proves Bitter Sweet for the World Land Trust
World Land Trust Launch Urgent Bid to Save Orang-utan Habitat in Borneo
Paraguay Government and World Land Trust Announce Management Partnership
The Ultimate Green Machine!
Spectacular New Species of Tree Named in Honour of Sir David Attenborough
Press Release dated: Monday, June 22, 2009
June 2009 - Blakea attenboroughii is now the official scientific name of a spectacular new species of tree found only in Ecuador. This beautiful tree, with magnificent bright blue flowers, has now been formally described and published in the Proceedings of the Californian Academy of Science, and named in honour of the great natural historian and World Land Trust patron, Sir David Attenborough. In November 2007 Lou Jost, an American Botanist who works with the World Land Trust's Ecuadorian project partners, Fundación EcoMinga, was taking a WLT staff member and also a representative from WLT's company sponsors, Puro Coffee, to visit the newly created nature reserve at Cerro Candelaria in Ecuador, when they found what they thought might be a species of tree new to science. Lou?s suspicions proved correct and the tree has now features in the Proceedings of the California Academy of Science, under the name of Blakea attenboroughii. It was felt appropriate to name the tree in honour of Sir David Attenborough who has supported the World Land Trust since its foundation and has been its patron since 2004 when he launched a campaign to raise funds for the purchase of a rainforest reserve in Ecuador. This is no ordinary tree -- it is, so far, only known to occur in a tiny area of Ecuador (though further research may find it further a field) -- and it has spectacular bright blue flowers. The reserve areas purchased by local Ecuadorian conservation groups, with funding from the World Land Trust, are proving to be a real treasure trove of biodiversity with many new species of orchid being discovered -- some of which are being named after sponsors of the land purchase -- as well as new species of frog and other wildlife. John Burton, the CEO of the World Land Trust commented "Ever since the scientific naming of species commenced it has been used to honour great contributions to biology, and everyone involved was agreed that Sir David's contribution to scientific knowledge of animal and plant life are second to none. We were delighted when he accepted the invitation to have a new species named after him, particularly when it is so unusual to discover new trees, with such beautiful flowers". -The End- Read the original scientific description on the web site of the California Academy of sciences http://research.calacademy.org/research/scipubs/pdfs/v60/proccas_v60_n06.pdf (PDF document, opens in new window) You will need Adobe Reader to open report. Adobe Reader is free and can be downloaded from Adobe, below.
 Get Adobe Reader (opens in new window) For more information about how you can donate to the World Land Trust's projects to save biodiversity and create nature reserves visit www.worldlandtrust.org or call Viv Burton (44) 01986 874422.
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The Great Ape Debate
Press Release dated: Friday, April 24, 2009
On the 30th April 2009 at 6pm, the World Land Trust and Linnean Society of London will host the widely anticipated 'Great Ape Debate'. The tickets sold out immediately but the debate will also be streamed live onto the WLT and Linnean Society of London websites allowing a huge public audience for what is expected to be a lively and informative debate. It is well known that Orangutan numbers have plummeted over recent years, mainly as a result of the spread of monocultures, particularly oil palm. The destruction of huge areas of orangutan habitat is now seriously threatening the species with extinction and leading conservationists in the field hold conflicting views on how best to ensure the survival of "the person of the forest". This debate will focus on the controversy surrounding Orangutan conservation and whether rehabilitation and reintroduction of rescued captive animals is a viable way of conserving Orangutans or would resources be better spent on the purchase, protection and recreation of their natural habitats? Experts are divided in their opinions, and this forum, consisting of conservation experts and scientists , will pool their views and open the debate to the floor in what should prove to be an intriguing and lively discussion. The issues raised will also be relevant to the conservation of other species. The debate will be chaired by The Earl of Cranbrook, and making up the panel will be Dr Marc Ancrenaz, Mr John A Burton, Dr David Chivers, Ms Ashley Leiman, and Mr Ian Redmond. This debate is being convened, and held jointly, by the Linnean Society of London and the World Land Trust (WLT), an international conservation charity with a twenty year track record of raising funds for land purchase working through in-country project partners. WLT's Orangutan Appeal, launched in 2008, has successfully raised funds to save important forest habitat in the Lower Kinabatangan Floodplain of Sabah. ENDS To find out more about this, and other WLT projects, go to www.worldlandtrust.org.
The link for the debate is http://www.worldlandtrust.org/videos/great-ape-debate.htm or www.linnean.org.
A Facebook group where people can continue the debate afterwards: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=75175892161 Key Speakers:Dr Marc Ancrenaz
Director of Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project Mr John A Burton, FLS
Founder and CEO of World Land Trust Dr David J. Chivers, FLS
University Reader in Primate Biology and Conservation, Veterinary Anatomy Programme and Head Wildlife Research Group at Cambridge University Ms Ashley Leiman, OBE
Founder and Director of Orangutan Foundation (UK) Mr Ian Redmond, OBE
Ambassador, UN Year of the Gorilla and Chief Consultant, GRASP ? UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Project CHAIR:Earl of Cranbrook, FLS For press enquiries contact:
Emma Beckett
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Endangered Wildlife Inspire 'Rising Gems' at Coutts London Jewellery Week 2009
Press Release dated: Friday, March 13, 2009
March 2009 - Coutts London Jewellery Week this June will launch an exciting collaboration between ten of London's most innovative and directional young jewellery designers who are uniting to form the aptly named, 'Rising Gems'. And this innovative collaboration will be raising funds to save some of the 'Gems of the Rainforest' through World Land Trust. Recognising the need to highlight and celebrate emerging UK jewellery talent at CLJW this year, the jewellery stars of tomorrow have joined forces to create a new collective. This group of up and coming London based designers boasts impressive credentials along with a wide mix of nationalities and cultures that represents the very diversity of an international city such as London. The 'Rising Gems' group includes, SHO Fine Jewellery, Missoma, Ana De Costa, Monica Vinader, Assya, Francesca Sibylla Augusta, Ornella Iannuzzi, Sabine Roemer, Leblas and Carla Shanks. Between these ten designers, there is an impressive portfolio of achievements including industry awards from the UK Jewellery Awards and Italian Jewellery Awards, as well as acclaimed commissions from the likes of the Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton, and Swarovski's 'Runway Rocks'. Some of the 'Rising Gems' have also been lucky enough to have had their talents nurtured by London's most established and famous designers who they previously studied under as protégés. World Land Trust is delighted that the ten designers will be collaborating on a very special, one-off 'Rising Gems collection' sponsored by ENLIGHTENED™ - Swarovski Elements, using their range of precision-cut genuine gemstones in an array of exquisite cuts, colours and brilliance. Each designer will create one piece of jewellery in the capsule collection that will be inspired by the World Land Trust's overseas projects. Fighting to protect critically endangered habitats, and the species being support around the world, the Trust's projects range from elephant and tiger corridors in India, cloud forests in Ecuador with species of orchids new to science, and wetland projects in Paraguay protecting myriads of aquatic birds and other sensational wildlife. Each designer will be representing a different project of their choice and a percentage of the proceeds raised by the 'Rising Gems' collection will be donated to each of the individual WLT projects being supported. The Rising Gems Collection will be unveiled at Liberty in their new jewellery room during CLJW and the designers will be toasted at a cocktail evening to mark the occasion. -The End- For press enquiries contact:
Emma Beckett
Visit - www.worldlandtrust.org
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Hummingbirds Set to Fly Out of Sotheran's, Piccadilly
Press Release dated: Thursday, March 12, 2009
March 2009 - On the 19th March, antiquarian book shop Sotheran's will unveil over forty John Gould hummingbird prints on sale to raise funds for UK conservation charity the World Land Trust. The great Victorian ornithologist and artist, John Gould was renowned for his invaluable contributions to Charles Darwin's work and his love of the hummingbirds which led him to produce one of the most outstanding bodies of work in the field of ornithology. Following his death in 1881, Henry Sotheran Limited, already involved in publishing some of Gould's later works, bought his entire estate which included a number of black and white lithographs with the pattern plates used for the hand colouring. This put Henry Sotheran in the unique position of being able to carry on the hand-colouring of the original 19th century lithographs according to Gould's exacting standards but which sell for around half the price of the original colour equivalents. Sotheran's are very supportive of the work of the World Land Trust and the fact that hummingbirds are flagship species of many of the Trust's rainforest reserves throughout South America, makes this a highly appropriate partnership. This exhibition of John Gould's unique and beautiful work is a celebration of all that is wonderful and awe-inspiring about hummingbirds and the WLT are grateful to Sotheran's for donating 50% of the profits to the Trust for their tropical forest purchase and protection projects. -The End- For press enquiries contact:
Emma Beckett
Visit - www.worldlandtrust.org
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Credit Crunch Proves Bitter Sweet for the World Land Trust
Press Release dated: Thursday, November 13, 2008
November 2008 - According to Third Sector (17 September), the main news source for Charities, a third of all charities have been forced to make staff redundant due to the slowing economy. However UK conservation charity the World Land Trust is clearly bucking the trend. Figures released by the Trust this week show a rise in donations of 26% for the year 2008. Determined to see a silver lining to the looming credit cloud, the Trust also feels that every penny donated will now go further due to the worldwide fall in land prices which will enable them to fund the purchase and protection of more critically endangered habitat across the globe.
Interestingly, at present it is the business fraternity who can be directly credited for the rise in donations. According to John Burton, WLT's CEO this is "Because we are a nimble charity able to respond to the needs of the business world, and because our projects are demonstrating the clear success of long term land conservation at the frontier of climate change mitigation. The business world is taking the threats to the planet very seriously, and while the Trust can only do so much, we can at least offer businesses a visible way of addressing their concerns. While it is easy to criticise this as Greenwash the World Land Trust believes that it is important to engage corporate support and to work with these companies to improve their environmental accountability as well as ensuring that their corporate donations are used to best effect to save critically threatened habitats."
It seems that, despite the economic downturn, businesses and individuals alike have not ceased to care about their impact on the environment. Support for the World Land Trust's overseas land purchase and protection projects is coming from a variety of corporate streams, particularly through CSR. Other companies believe that by making a commitment to 'green up' their image they can get an edge for their company in the corporate marketplace. More generally, John Burton suggested that "Perhaps, at long last people are waking up to the fact that the future of the planet is becoming precarious, and that has implications for us humans. Certainly the last two years have seen unprecedented growth in the donations to the World Land Trust." It is certainly reassuring that during a time when businesses are reorganising their priorities for the difficult time ahead, they are standing firm on green policies, something which has never happened in previous economic down turns.
The World Land Trust has recently launched an urgent appeal to safeguard Orang-utans in Borneo, where the main threats come from the massive conversion from tropical forest to oil palm plantation. Because of the huge profits to be made from palm oil, the land is much more expensive than the Trust usually has to pay however, according to John Burton, there may be a positive aspect for endangered species resulting from the credit crunch: "The last year or two has seen land prices world wide increasing dramatically, so the financial crisis may bring prices down, making every Dollar/Pound/Euro go further." The WLT helps its overseas project partners purchase and protect rainforest and other habitats, usually costing around £50 an acre. "Unlike money, we cannot just borrow more wilderness; once it's gone it's gone - there is no way of bailing out rainforests!"
-The End -
For press enquiries contact:
Emma Beckett
Visit - www.worldlandtrust.org
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World Land Trust Launch Urgent Bid to Save Orang-utan Habitat in Borneo
Press Release dated: Monday, July 28, 2008
July 2008 - The World Land Trust (WLT) and LEAP Conservancy (an NGO based in Borneo) are combining forces in an urgent bid to save critically endangered Orang-utans in Borneo. The Orang-utan is one of the most threatened animals in the world, and it is endangered mainly because its habitat is being destroyed catastrophically with the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.
WLT is a UK charity (established in 1989) which works internationally to help create nature reserves, by funding the purchase of privately owned land that has high conservation value. In this case, the ownership and management of the reserve will be vested in LEAP which will ensure the commitment of the local people who will protect the Orang-utans, and their forests, in perpetuity, supported by legal protection.
Because of the demand for palm oil the price of land in Borneo is increasing almost daily, but WLT has a window of opportunity to fund the purchase of a vital piece of land for Orang-utans which connects two already protected government-owned reserves. This protected corridor will create a viable reserve for Orang-utans to live in. If we fail to secure it, and the forest is cleared, the Orang-utan population will be split into two smaller populations, and a further decline in their numbers would be inevitable.
WLT needs to raise £343,364 over the next six months. This will give a future to the estimated 604 Orang-utans currently depending on these forests; this works out at a mere £568 per individual. And in addition to Orang-utans, the reserve will protect many other rare and threatened species, including the Borneo Pygmy Elephant, the Proboscis Monkey and several species of hornbill together with all the other biodiversity in the forest.
The WLT's patron, Sir David Attenborough has stated, 'Every bit of the rainforest that is knocked down is less space for Orang-utans. They have been reduced very seriously in the past decade, and we must do all we can to reverse this devastation. I fully support World Land Trust in its bid to save this important land!'
Your donation, whether it is £25 or £25,000 will make a real difference - and if we raise more than the immediate £343,364 needed for this we will be able to create more corridors to save the lives of Orang-utans, and other unique wildlife that lives in the fragments of forests in Borneo.
ENDS -
Editors Notes:
- The Borneo Orang-utan is classified as endangered.
- The wild population is currently estimated to be between 40-50,000 (half the number recorded 20 years ago).
- The Borneo Orang-utan Survival Foundation has warned that the rapid rate of deforestation caused by the palm oil industry means that the orangutan could be virtually extinct in the wild by 2012.
- Throughout Sumatra and Borneo the palm-oil industry has been responsible for the clearance of over 6.5 million hectares of rainforest and other vital orangutan habitat to make way for oil-palm plantations.
- Palm oil is one of the most valuable sources of biofuels, and Indonesia and Malaysia are responsible for producing 83% of it globally.
- The oil palm industry could be responsible for 50% of the noticeable reduction in orangutan habitat between 1992 and 2003.
- A UN report states: 'Today, the rapid increase in [oil palm] plantation acreage is one of the greatest threats to orang-utans and the forests on which they depend. In Malaysia and Indonesia, it is now the primary cause of permanent rainforest loss. The huge demand for this versatile product makes it very difficult to curb the spread of plantations.'
- With the western world becoming increasingly preoccupied with healthy eating, palm oil is an attractive alternative to trans fatty acids. Palm oil is now found in 1/10 of supermarket products in Britain and Britain import tonnes of it annually. Unfortunately it is very difficult to avoid palm oil in products as in many of the items it is used in ingredients are not listed.
- FOE claim: "Almost 90 per cent of orang-utan habitat has now disappeared. Some orang-utan populations have been halved in the past 15 years, and from a total remaining population of less than 60,000, an estimated 5,000 are lost each year. If this rate of decline continues the orang-utan will be extinct within 12 years."
For press enquiries contact:
Emma Beckett Kirsty Burgess, Conservation Programmes Manager at World Land Trust on 01986 874 422/email kirsty@worldlandtrust.org www.worldlandtrust.org
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Paraguay Government and World Land Trust Announce Management Partnership
Press Release dated: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The Environment Minister of Paraguay, Arq. Carlos A. Lopez Dose, has announced a dramatically innovative initiative to form a shared-management partnership with British conservation charity the World Land Trust. This remarkable management handover will protect 2,500,000 acres of endangered forests mostly in the northern Chaco of Paraguay and is testament to the World Land Trust's ability to expertly manage projects overseas with tact and diplomacy. In 2005 the World Land Trust formed a partnership with Guyra Paraguay, one of Paraguay's foremost conservation NGOs and immediately embarked on a programme of land purchase to create a network of private nature reserves. Most of the land outside of Paraguay's National parks is privately owned, and the remaining forests are seriously threatened by the rapid expansion of agriculture, which in recent years has been driven by the demand for soya and biofuels. The World Land Trust's partnership with Guyra Paraguay has proved incredibly successful and to date and WLT has provided US$725,000 for land purchase in Paraguay. This has resulted in Guyra Paraguay now owning and protecting reserves in the Atlantic Rainforests and grasslands of southern Paraguay, 70,000 acres of wetlands in the north east and over 10,000 acres of dry Chaco. It is a direct result of these activities that the Government of Paraguay has recognized the importance of wildlife heritage and has approached Guyra Paraguay and the World Land Trust to sign a shared management agreement to protect what is believed to be one of the largest protected areas to be managed by NGOs anywhere in the world. The World Land Trust's principal role is raising the funds for land purchase to enable the purchase of key tracts of land to strategically compliment the 2,500,000 acres and to raise additional funds for its protection. Although the dry Chaco is a relatively hostile environment it is home to rare wildlife and is also inhabited by groups of indigenous Amerindians, some of which have remained in isolation, so remote is the area. Another objective of the shared management project is to protect the lands that these groups rely on from unwanted intrusion. According to the World Land Trust's CEO, John Burton, "This is certainly the biggest challenge that the WLT has faced in its 20 year history, and I believe that it is vital that we rise to the challenge, to do as much as we can for the future of the world's wild places. We MUST save this wonderful habitat, and we must work with the people who live there." -The End- *** John Burton is available for interview and would be pleased to discuss any points raised. For press enquiries contact:
Emma Beckett
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The Ultimate Green Machine!
Press Release dated: Tuesday, June 10, 2008
This week sees the long awaited return of The Incredible Hulk, looking bigger and better than ever before! The Hulk, played by Edward Norton, is sure to have cinema goers glued to the screen but Universal Pictures and the World Land Trust hope the Hulk's greenness will impact fans in more ways than one!
The World Land Trust and Universal Pictures have specifically developed an 'Incredible Hulk Carbon Calculator' to encourage film fans to go online and balance their carbon emissions. By visiting www.carbonbalanced.org/incredible-hulk/calculator you can choose to balance flights, transport or household emissions. To put things in perspective the average UK person can balance their daily electricity, fuel and transport use for one whole year with a mere £68 donation. However even if people were to simply balance their flights it would make a significant difference to the World Land Trust who are hugely successful in halting the destruction of some of the most critically endangered habitat around the globe.
All funds raised from the 'Incredible Hulk Carbon Calculator' will go directly to the World Land Trust's Paraguay project. Interestingly, Paraguay is a meeting point for several major habitats, including lowland rainforest, grassland, wetlands, dry and humid forest ecosystems. These unique habitats are home to 117 species of mammals, including Pumas, Jaguars, Giant Anteaters and 600 species of birds.
There is no need to rip your shirt off before turning green, simply visit the calculator and offset your CO2. If only someone would tell the Hulk it's that easy!
-End-
For press enquiries contact:
Emma Beckett
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