#Halesworth charity World Land Trust (WLT) has raised one million pounds in 25th Anniversary Year: Halesworth charity World Land Trust (WLT) has raised one million pounds to save the rainforest home of Orang-utans and other endangered #wildlife in the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The announcement was made during a celebration of World Land Trust’s 25th Anniversary, ‘Saving Paradise: An Acre-by-Acre Journey’, which took place in London on Tuesday 6 May 2014. Hosted by Sir David Attenborough, the evening event commemorated WLT’s success in protecting the world’s most biologically important habitats during the past quarter century. John Burton, CEO and founder of World Land Trust, commented: “We have been overwhelmed by the response to our Borneo Rainforest Appeal. We had an ambitious target and I am delighted to say that our supporters responded very generously.” The million pounds will safeguard the Keruak Corridor, a critically important strip of forest along the north bank of the Kinabatangan River. Orang-utans need to roam over large areas of forest in order to find a mate and form viable populations. But when trees are felled, these magnificent, endangered mammals become marooned in islands of forest, cut off from one another. Keeping the Keruak Corridor forested will protect the link between two existing forest reserves and enable Orang-utans to move freely through more than 10,000 acres of forest. Other species will also benefit from the corridor including Pygmy Elephants and Proboscis Monkey. WLT’s Borneo Rainforest Appeal was organised in partnership with Hutan, a conservation NGO based in Sabah, which is one of the few remaining Orang-utan strongholds. Dr Isabelle Lackman, Co-Director of Hutan, said: “Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of all World Land Trust’s supporters and partners, we are now in the process of purchasing and permanently protecting a strategically important corridor of forest along the River Kinabatangan. The protection of the forest is crucial for the protection of species, and by connecting forests that are fragmented we know we can save viable populations of Orang-utans.” World Land Trust has had its headquarters in Suffolk since the Trust was formed in 1989. In 1995 WLT opened an office in Blyth House, Bridge Street, Halesworth. image credits: Sir David Attenborough at ‘Saving Paradise: An Acre-by-Acre Journey’ at the BAFTA theatre, London, on Tuesday 6 May 2014. Image © David Bebber. Orang-utan. Image © Hutan/Mohd Daisah Bin Kapar. NOTES: World Land Trust is an international conservation charity that raises funds to purchase and protect critically threatened tropical forests and other vital wildlife habitats. The Trust has its headquarters in Halesworth in Suffolk. Its patrons are Sir David Attenborough OM CH FRS, David Gower OBE & Chris Packham. Registered charity number 1001291. worldlandtrust.org World Land Trust’s Borneo Rainforest Appeal was launched in August 2013 to raise one million pounds to save threatened rainforest in the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. This region, with its varied lowland forest habitats, is frequently described as the most biodiverse region in the whole of south east Asia. It is the only place in Borneo which provides suitable habitat for 10 primate species including the Bornean Orang-utan, Bornean Gibbon and Proboscis Monkey. The level of threat to forested land in the Lower Kinabatangan is astounding because of the expansion of the lucrative palm oil industry. Even very small parcels of land are converted to palm monocultures because the economic return is so high. To find out more about Lowestoft College ring 0800 854695 dlvr.it/5gFzNz
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 15:55:17 +0000
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