1. Why support World Land Trust?
Supporting World Land Trust (WLT) means making a direct impact on the protection of some of the planet’s most threatened and biologically rich habitats.
Since 1989, WLT has placed local people at the heart of every project, working with trusted in-country partners to deliver lasting conservation. WLT funds the creation of reserves that safeguard forests and other vital ecosystems, helping to preserve biodiversity and deliver climate benefits. This protection can take the form of land purchase, long-term leasing, or engaging communities in sustainable land management.
This approach reflects WLT’s mission: to help people across the world protect and restore their land for the benefit of wildlife, climate, and future generations.
2. How does World Land Trust’s approach to habitat protection stand out?
When World Land Trust (WLT) launched the Programme for Belize, we were the only UK organisation focused on buying rainforest for permanent protection. Since then, this approach has proven highly effective, and many other organisations have adopted it as a fundraising model. We welcome their involvement as there’s an urgent need to protect vast areas of rainforest and other habitats, and collaboration is key.
Before donating to any charity, it’s important to do your research. Review their annual reports, learn about their staff and trustees, and assess their conservation credentials. Here’s what we believe sets WLT apart:
- Proven Track Record: Decades of successful conservation projects since 1989.
- Locally Led: All projects are delivered by trusted in-country partners, with local people at the heart of implementation.
- Long term approach: We believe in long term partnerships and not short-term sponsorship.
- Focus on existing: Whilst we do have a reforestation programme, we prioritise saving existing, ecologically rich habitats first.
- Transparency: We’re open about how donations are used and who is involved.
- Donor Choice: You can earmark your donation for specific projects, ensuring your support goes exactly where you intend.
3. Can I become a member of WLT?
World Land Trust (WLT) doesn’t run a traditional membership scheme. Instead, we encourage supporters to make regular donations through our WLT Friends programme. By pledging a monthly gift of £5 or more via Direct Debit, WLT Friends provide vital, predictable funding that helps us plan and deliver long-term conservation projects, such as land purchases to protect threatened habitats.
WLT Friends are at the heart of our work. Their ongoing commitment inspires others, including individuals and corporate partners, to support our mission.
Would you like more information on becoming a WLT Friend or exploring other ways to support us Click here
1. How is £100 per acre figure arrived at?
The price of £100 an acre is an average. This is because not only do land values vary geographically, but they also vary locally. Access to roads, whether or not there is forest, or if they have been cleared for cattle ranching all affect the price. So we have worked out, what we consider to be a fair average, taking into account the costs of actual purchase (legal fees, taxes etc) but not including long-term management and protection. In some parts of South America our partners are able to buy land very cheaply, and it is in those projects area where we offer our supporters the chance to save an acre for £100.
It is a complex issue, and for donors making large donations we are always happy to discuss an individual project and what the exact costs are. But rest assured, donors ‘buying’ half an acre, one acre or five acres: £100 really does, on average, save an acre.
In other parts of the world, land is very much more expensive and land prices vary enormously, which means that for our projects in those areas we are unable to specify in advance how many acres your donation will save.
2. Why are not all projects £100 an acre?
How much land your donation will save depends on the project area. In some parts of South America our partners are able to buy land very cheaply. In other parts of the world, land is very much more expensive and land prices vary enormously. For donations to these areas we don’t always know in advance how many acres your donation will be able to buy. What we can guarantee, is that your donation will be used for land purchase and protection and nothing else. Your donation is saving real acres in real places, permanently – it is not a limited sponsorship or ‘adoption’ of a piece of land sold over and over again.
3. How do I know where my donation goes?
WLT ensures transparency and accountability in how donations are used. Here are some ways donors can track their contributions:
- Detailed Reports: WLT provides Annual Reports and Accounts that outline how funds are allocated and spent. These documents are accessible to the public and offer a comprehensive overview of the organisation’s financial activities.
- Project Updates: Donors receive regular updates on the progress of specific projects they have supported. These updates include information on the impact of their donations and the advancements made in conservation efforts
- Earmarked Donations: Donors can earmark their contributions for specific projects where possible, ensuring their funds are directed towards particular conservation initiatives
- Transparency: WLT is committed to being transparent about its expenditure and the people involved in the Trust. This includes information about staff, trustees, and their expertise in conservation
How does WLT determine which reforestation projects to support?
As with all projects proposed to WLT, all new restoration proposals are reviewed by WLT’s Programmes team to assess the project’s suitability. WLT’s Conservation Advisory Panel, a group of independent conservation experts, will also make a recommendation based on the conservation merit of a potential project. WLT follows internal criteria (such as assessing the benefits the project will bring to wildlife and local communities) as well as standards around governance, accountability and finances.
What types of forest are WLT restoring?
Each project is unique and provides benefits beyond tree-planting, for the wider environment, conservation of wildlife and local people. WLT’s various reforestation projects work to restore and improve habitat quality in order to reconnect forest patches, alongside engaging and supporting local communities in different ways, for example providing employment. Because our partners are based all around the world, WLT has funded restoration in a variety of different forest types, from the lush rainforests of Ecuador to the dry forests of Paraguay.
How does WLT select where to plant trees?
WLT’s in-country partners are responsible for selecting sites suitable for tree-planting, based on their local knowledge and expertise. The selected sites will be areas of degraded habitat that cannot regenerate naturally and can be restored to a healthy natural state through reforestation, bringing benefits to biodiversity and local communities. Sites will often be selected strategically so the degraded habitat, once restored, will connect or reconnect isolated forest patches. Building this habitat connectivity into a landscape is important for species survival, as it facilitates safe wildlife movement and can help to preserve the genetic diversity of many species.
Are all the trees planted native?
Our partners select all tree species to be planted, usually collecting seeds from the local area and propagating them in nurseries. As our projects focus on restoring native forest habitats, in most cases all of the trees planted will be native to the country where the project is taking place. However, there are exceptions where the use of non-native species is agreed in advance with WLT, providing there is a clear requirement and conservation objective. For example, planting woodlots made up of fast-growing non-native species can provide food, timber and other resources for local communities, helping them to reduce their reliance on native forest habitat.
How does WLT determine when an area is restored?
WLT supports our local partners to monitor and protect planted areas until the point at which the trees are established, with the trees forming a young forest that no longer requires active maintenance to survive. No tree-planting project will have a 100% survival rate, particularly in the early stages when saplings are not well established, but after at least two to three years of maintenance and monitoring most trees will be mature enough for natural mortality rates to be low. Some projects will carry out maintenance over a longer period where required.
When I buy an acre of rainforest or other habitat, what does that mean?
When you donate through our Buy and Acre programme, your donation will allow one of our local conservation partners to buy an acre of land that is then owned and managed by them in the countries where we operate.
The price of £100 per acre is an average that we have worked out taking into consideration the costs of actual purchase and variables such as legal fees and taxes.
Can I visit where my acre is?
While we don’t identify the individual acres, more and more of our partner organisations are implementing eco-tourism plans and their reserves can be visited, more information can be found on their websites.
In which project areas will my £100 save one Acre?
Please see our Buy an Acre page for our current Buy and Acre-supported projects. Donations to Buy an Acre will be used in the project area where it is most urgently needed. If you would like to donate to a specific project, please contact our Supporter Care team who will be happy to help.
What does my £5 Plant a Tree donation pay for?
Project activities vary, but in general a donation to Plant a Tree will cover the following: seed, seedling, or sapling collection of native tree species; nursery costs; site preparation; planting and protection; replacement planting; tree monitoring and maintenance for the first two to three years and continued monitoring until the point at which the tree is established.
The cost of planting a tree varies among WLT’s restoration projects due to varying local conditions, for example, reforestation projects in dry environments typically require more stringent site preparation and ongoing care such as increased watering in order to be successful. WLT takes account of these differences by using an average ‘per tree’ cost spread across all our restoration projects. A donation of £5 to WLT’s Plant a Tree programme will fund the planting and care of a tree through to its establishment as part of a wider forest within a protected area.
Who monitors and maintains the trees after they are planted?
Generally, all reforestation work is carried out by our in-country partners, usually in collaboration with paid local community members. Most of our partners operate in areas of the Global South where job opportunities may be scarce or underpaid and people may live below the poverty line. In these areas, tree-planting and other activities, like seed collection and nursery work, provide an important source of income.
What does the monitoring and maintenance process involve?
Part of your £5 donation covers active monitoring and maintenance for your planted tree over the first two to three years of its life. This work is essential to the survival of the tree and varies between the different projects, but it can include activities like watering, clearing vegetation from around the tree, installing tree guards or fencing and monitoring the survival rate of tees at the restoration site.
What happens if a planted tree dies?
If the tree funded by your £5 donation dies within two years after it is planted, our partner will replace it with a new sapling. This is covered in the cost of your donation. Your donation may also cover the costs of further replacements, although this is rare and depends on the project. It should be noted that no tree-planting project will have a 100% survival rate; even with proper ongoing monitoring and maintenance, there will still be some level of natural mortality among the saplings. Provided there are no major obstacles, our partners’ monitoring and maintenance will ensure enough saplings survive to maturity to restore the full number of hectares outlined at the project’s start.
Can I offset my carbon emissions by donating to Plant a Tree?
While every tree you plant helps fight climate change, the Plant a Tree programme does not currently offer carbon mitigation. This is because carbon mitigation projects require stringent reporting and certification processes.
Organisations can mitigate their carbon emissions through WLT’s Carbon Balanced programme. This includes a project in the Albertine Rift of western Uganda, managed by our partner, the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda (ECOTRUST). This project is certified to the Plan Vivo Carbon Standard (PV Climate) and provides climate benefits through carbon sequestration via reforestation (farmer-led forestry/agroforestry projects), reducing pressure on natural forest resources, and improving rural livelihoods.
Does World Land Trust have places available in the London Marathon?
If you would like to run the London Marathon for WLT, you can enter through the general ballot and contact us for promotional material such as a WLT t-shirt.
How should I collect money?
It is preferable to use our online fundraising facilities here, but if you’d like a paper sponsorship form, please email us. We do ask our fundraisers not to collect funds through their own websites or third-party bank/PayPal accounts.
Can you supply collection boxes?
Yes, we can supply collection boxes to corporate supporters and individual fundraisers who are aged 16 or over. Once you have confirmed in writing that you agree to our collection box policy, in particular that the box will be kept secure and not be used for street or door-to-door fundraising, you can start collecting.
When should I pass my funds to WLT?
By law, you must pass funds raised for World Land Trust to us within the timeframe we request, and we ask to receive funds within 6 weeks or on a quarterly basis if using a collection box. If you have raised money using an online fundraising site, this is passed to us automatically.
Is my fundraising legal?
Please do contact WLT when you’re at the planning stage of your fundraising, as we will be able to advise you if there may be any problems. Here are some things to bear in mind:
Collecting money door-to-door is illegal unless you have a licence, and we ask our supporters not to raise funds for us in this way. You also need a licence and permission from your local authority if you are planning to sell goods or collect money in a public place.
If you are preparing food and drink for public consumption as part of an event, you are responsible under the Food Safety Act (1990) for making sure that everything supplied is deemed fit and safe. This covers food and drink sold or raffled for charity and supplied free to the public.
Holding a raffle is permitted if it’s part of a bigger event and there are no cash prizes, but other raffles may be unlawful.
For careers at WLT, please see our vacancies page.
Can I volunteer in WLT projects?
WLT does not run general volunteer programmes at our project areas. The capacity of our partners varies widely and they are generally not able to accommodate volunteers. Currently all conservation work is carried out by our in-country partners, usually in collaboration with paid local community members, for whom this work provides an important source of income.
Very occasionally, WLT is asked by one of its project partners to recruit an international volunteer, to acquire a specialist skill not available locally. These skills have been varied, from drainage engineers, skilled builders, and marketing experts. These opportunities will be advertised on our vacancies page as and when they arise.
Can I do a gap year project overseas with WLT?
World Land Trust does not currently have programmes for gap year students.
Can I get a grant from WLT?
WLT does not give grants to individuals, and does not support expeditions. Grants are normally only made to NGOs who become part of our partner network. Before applying to WLT, it is essential to have read the project proposal guidelines.
Can I contact WLT Patron Sir David Attenborough?
Sir David asks us to inform enquirers that he is not taking on new commitments and is booked up many months in advance so is generally unable to accept invitations to speak at events and conferences. Also please note that Sir David is unable to endorse products, read manuscripts, accept invitations to write forewords in books, or attend book launches.
Can World Land Trust supply speakers on conservation?
WLT can supply a representative to speak at a public or private event if travel expenses are reimbursed (and very occasionally, when they are not). Speakers are usually staff members, but occasionally we will have other stakeholders who are prepared to give talks.
AUSTRALIA
From the end of December 2023 World Land Trust will cease to operate as a registered charity in Australia. Please contact us for further information on how donors based in Australia can continue to support our fight for the planet from 2024.
Until the end of December 2023, in Australia World Land Trust will remain fully registered as WLT Australia (WLT-A), recognised as a fundraising organisation in all of the Australian states and with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).
EUROPE
You can donate via PayPal or directly into our EUR account for both one off or a recurring donation, for further details please email us.
If you would like to support WLT through Transnational Giving Europe, please get in touch with us as we may be able to arrange this (donors from Germany please see below).
GERMANY
Donors based in Germany can now make tax efficient donations to WLT through the Transnational Giving Europe platform.
USA
DONATIONS
To enable individuals to make tax efficient donations to support World Land Trust we are registered with CAF America as an evaluated charity.
More information about how to make a donation via CAF America can be found on their website – cafamerica.org
Please note that CAF America has a minimum administration fee of $80, so please take this into consideration if you choose to donate.
LEGACIES
World Land Trust is an evaluated charity of CAF America, which is a 501(c)(3) registered organisation. US-based individuals who wish to remember us in their will can use this route for legacy giving.
Follow this link to CAF America’s website for more information and for CAF America’s contact details.
Grantmakers
World Land Trust has an Equivalency Determination with NGOSource, hugely simplifying donations from US-based corporate, community and private foundations, as well as Donor Advised Funds.
For more information please visit the NGOSource website or you are welcome to email us to discuss potential support. NGOSource membership fees are waived for foundations with an annual budget below US$5 million.
