Disney gives out $6million to 80 nonprofits, conservation efforts to cover sarus cranes to angel sharks
As many as 80 nonprofit organizations working to conserve wildlife and preserve the planet have received $6 million in grants by The Disney Conservation Fund (DCF).
The fund, which was created in 1995 has granted approximately $86 million to nonprofits working for the cause so far. In October 2018, it granted $5million to support 76 organizations.
Some of the organizations that have received grants this year include Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust's 'Conserving Sarus Cranes in Cambodia', Cambodia; ZSL America's 'Angel Shark Project' in Spain; TREE Foundation among others.
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust which has been at the forefront of conservation of wetland species for more than 70 years is currently working on two sites in the Lower Mekong Delta of Cambodia, both of which are the last remaining refuges of the Sarus crane, the world's tallest flying bird. The Sarus crane is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and has already been completely destroyed in Malaysia and the Philippines.
The grant will help them learn to save the species by conserving their habitat. Tomos Avent, Head of Conservation and Development at the Trust, said in a statement to MEA WorldWide, “This grant will help us understand the best ways to maintain the crane’s habitat by working with local villagers to restore 200 hectares of degraded wetland and promote the value of healthy wetlands to local communities." He said it would be undertaken through education, awareness events and by 'developing sustainable livelihoods that contribute to biodiversity conservation.'
The Trust also works in the conservation of the critically endangered Spoon-billed sandpiper in eastern China through partnerships.
African People & Wildlife's Northern Tanzania Big Cats Conservation Initiative which has also received a grant from DCF this year said in a statement to MEAWW: "African People & Wildlife is honored to be a continuing grantee of the Disney Conservation Fund", said Dr. Laly Lichtenfeld, Co-founder and CEO, African People & Wildlife. "This vital support will help us further engage communities in the long-term protection of northern Tanzania's highly threatened lion, cheetah, and leopard populations", Lichtenfeld added. The project works in the long term conservation of extremely threatened species such as African lions, cheetahs, and leopards.