Gland, Switzerland, 22 November 2012 (IUCN) – Flagship species conservation initiative Save Our Species (SOS) is expanding its work with $2.5 million funding for 25 new projects.
Dolphins, dugongs, manatees, gibbons, rhinos, tigers and many other lesser known yet similarly threatened species such as river turtles, Asian crocodiles, flying foxes, myriad freshwater fish and plant species are going to benefit from what will be the second round of species conservation projects within the SOS initiative.
“The latest injection of USD2.5 million doubles the number of active SOS projects but much more needs to be done in the field of species conservation,” says Jean Christophe Vié, Deputy Director of IUCN’s Global Species Programme and SOS Director. “Every year we receive more project proposals than we can possibly fund and the selection process is extremely challenging.
“With more funding available from a broader range of sponsors and donors, we can be much more efficient in addressing the current biodiversity crisis. That is why we are ramping up our efforts in promoting SOS to individuals and companies alike with the possibility to make online donations while also engaging with several progressive industry leaders to work with SOS.”
This announcement from SOS comes a few weeks after the meeting of the Convention on Biological Biodiversity in Hyderabad where 193 countries discussed ways of honouring their engagement to preserve the diversity of life. It also follows the publication of a recent report published by Science, calculating the cost of improving the status of threatened species until 2020 at approximately $USD 4 billion annually, just 1% of the value of ecosystems being lost every year.
The new SOS projects will be implemented by NGOs across the Americas, Africa and Asia, starting immediately. They will focus on a broad range of species groups that have been assessed by the IUCN Red List, including small marine mammals, freshwater African fish, tropical terrestrial Asian vertebrates and cycads – one of the world’s oldest plant groups.
According to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, one in three amphibians, one in four mammals and one in eight birds are at risk of extinction in the wild.
To date SOS projects have worked with more than 150 species listed as threatened on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, positively impacting wildlife as well as local communities.
Through its species-focus approach, SOS aims to stop biodiversity loss and increase resources for biodiversity conservation. IUCN manages the initiative by channelling resources to fund the best projects undertaken by civil society around the world – projects which are technically sound, well designed, cost effective, have a good chance of success, and which explain conservation in an engaging way to the public. This is achieved by leveraging IUCN’s broad and in-depth knowledge base.
“We invite everyone who is interested and passionate about protecting the world’s animals and plants to join us and help answer the SOS call from the wild, so that we can do more for the amazing diversity of life on our planet on which our own lives depend so dearly,” says IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre.
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About SOS
Established in 2010 SOS – Save Our Species is a joint partnership of IUCN, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank supported by Nokia and the Fonds français pour l’environnement mondial (FFEM). Its objective is to ensure the long-term survival of threatened species, their habitats and, of course, the people depending on them. With the launch of the 25 new projects, SOS - Save Our Species draws attention to the fact that meaningful change is being realised and will make an impact but that change depends on support from everyone in society, individuals, experts and corporations alike. To save ourselves we must save our species and SOS Save Our Species invites all to answer the SOS call from the wild.
Quotes from our Donors
Dr. Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility says
"With this new and exciting batch of projects, SOS scales up its reach to the front lines of the battle to save globally threatened species," said Dr. Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility. "This is not only a moral agenda, since, by protecting species, we are benefitting people and communities across the globe. While the GEF is still the single largest financial contributor to SOS, we are most impressed by the growing interest of other donors in joining the initiative. This expanded base of support continues the mobilization of resources for the highest priority in the biodiversity field globally -- putting a stop to the extinction crisis."
Sari Soderstrom - Sector Manager, Agriculture and Environmental Services Department, The World Bank says
"Species matter to the World Bank’s mission of ending poverty. Millions of people depend daily on the safety net that nature provides. For vulnerable communities, nature helps build resilience against emerging global threats from water scarcity to climate shocks. We welcome the on-the-ground action and results focus that SOS brings and look forward to seeing the benefits from these new projects."
François-Xavier Duporge, FFEM Secretary-General, says
“SOS is a great opportunity for Africa and we hope to see more good proposals to support biodiversity conservation challenges faced in this continent”.
Markus Terho, Head of Sustainability for Nokia, SOS longest standing corporate sponsor says
“I am delighted to see SOS growing with continued success in the fields of conservation and general public awareness. I strongly believe that biodiversity is a very important topic for our society and that it will feature more and more prominently in the years to come. That is why Nokia, as a pioneer in green business, joined SOS. We hope to catalyse this partnership with SOS by leveraging this relationship with species through a variety of exciting knowledge products and initiatives that leverage the power of mobile technologies for both research and education”.
Appendix 1
The 25 new projects participating in the SOS Threatened Species Grant include:
1. Comprehensive community-based conservation of the endangered maleo bird (Macrocephalon maleo) in Tompotika, Sulawesi
Organisation: Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
Country: Indonesia
Species: Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) (EN)
2. Conservation of Atlantic Humpback Dolphins in Gabon and Congo - a refuge for an embattled and forgotten species
Organisation: Wildlife Conservation Society
Countries: Republic of Congo & Gabon
Species: Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii) (VU)
3. Conservation of Endangered and Critically Endangered Gibbons of Southeast Asia
Organisation: Wildlife Conservation Society
Countries: Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia
Species: Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) (EN) Agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis) (EN)
Lar gibbon (Hylobates lar) (EN)
Northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) (CR).
4. Conservation of Priority Freshwater Ecosystems and Threatened Species in the Cape Floristic
Region
Organisation: Endangered Wildlife Trust
Country: South Africa
Species: The Clanwilliam sandfish (Labeo seeberi) (EN) Barrydale redfin (Pseudobarbus burchelli)(CR) Clanwilliam sawfin (Barbus serra) (EN)
Clanwilliam yellowfish (Labeobarbus capensis) (VU) Clanwilliam redfin (Barbus calidus) (VU)
Fiery redfin (Pseudobarbus phlegethon) (EN) Twee River redfin (Barbus erubescens) (CR) Clanwilliam rock catfish (Austroglanis gilli) (VU) Spotted rock catfish (Austroglanis barnadi) (EN) Cape Galaxias (Galaxias zebratus) (DD)
Riverine Rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis) (CR)
5. Conservation of the saola and other endangered mammals of the Phou Sithone Endangered
Species Conservation Area in Laos Organisation: Wildlife Conservation Society Country: Lao PDR
Species: Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) (CR)
6. Conserving A Suite of Northern Cambodia’s Threatened Bird Species
Organisation: Wildlife Conservation Society
Country: Cambodia
Species: Giant Ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea) (CR)
White-shouldered Ibis (Pseudibis davisoni) (CR) Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) (CR) White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) (CR) Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) (CR); Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) (CR); Greater Adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) (EN); Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus) (EN);
Masked Finfoot (Heliopais personatus) (EN); White-winged Duck (Cairina scutulata) (EN)
7. Conserving the Critically Endangered White-bellied Heron, Ardea insignis in key sites of the
Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam, India
Organisation: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
Country: India
Species: White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis) (CR)
8. Creating Connections: Working Together to Protect the Last Stronghold of the Endemic
Sulawesi Crested Black Macaque (Macaca nigra) Organisation: The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust Country: Indonesia
Species: Sulawesi crested black macaque (Macaca nigra) (CR)
9. Dugong Emergency Protection Project Organisation: Endangered Wildlife Trust Country: Mozambique
Species: Dugong (Dugong dugon) (VU)
10. Ensuring a future for the Critically Endangered Siamese crocodile
Organisation: Fauna & Flora International
Country: Cambodia
Species: Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) (CR)
11. Enhancing Protection of the Critically Endangered Sumatran Rhino
Organisation: International Rhino Foundation
Country: Indonesia
Species: Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) (CR) Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) (EN) Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) (EN)
12. Filipinos for Flying Foxes: Community-based roost sanctuaries for the world’s largest bat
(Acerodon jubatus)
Organisation: Bat Conservation International
Country: Philippines
Species: Golden-capped fruit bat (Acerodon jubatus) (EN)
13. Implementing a regional model to conserve large River Terrapins of the genus Batagur in South and Southeast Asia
Organisation: Turtle Survival Alliance Foundation
Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India
Species: Golden-capped fruit bat (Acerodon jubatus) (EN)
14. Management strategy to establish new populations and guarantee the persistence of critically endangered species of Cycads in Colombia
Organisation: Universidad de Antioquia
Country: Colombia
Species: Zamia disodon (CR) Zamia restrepoi (CR) Zamia wallissi (CR)
15. People and Nature: Sustainable solutions to conserve endemic and globally threatened species
on Papua New Guinea’s Huon Peninsula Organisation: Woodland Park Zoological Society Country: Papua New Guinea
Species: Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) (EN)
Western Long-Beaked Echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) (CR)
ew Guinea Pademelon (Thylogale browni) (VU)
16. Preventing Bycatch of Irrawaddy Dolphins in the Mekong River
Organisation: WWF-Cambodia
Country: Cambodia
Species: Mekong river subpopulation of Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) (CR)
17. Safeguarding endangered Douc Langurs and critically endangered Gibbons at Son Tra Nature
Reserve and Chu Mom Ray National Park, Vietnam
Organisation: Douc Langur Foundation
Country: Vietnam
Species:Red shanked Douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus) (EN) Grey shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix cinerea) (EN) Gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) (CR)
18. Saving a Threatened Cycad Species: Zamia prasina in Belize.
Organisation: Montgomery Botanical Center, Inc. Country: Belize
Species: Zamia prasina (CR)
Zamia decumbens (not found in RL)
Zamia meermanii (not found in RL)
19. Saving the Saola - Intensifying protection across a trans-boundary landscape
Organisation: WWF Greater Mekong
Countries: Lao PDR, Vietnam
Species: Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) (CR)
Large-antlered muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis) (EN)
20. Saving Threatened Coastal Cetaceans in Collaboration with Gillnet Fishermen in Coastal Waters of Bangladesh
Organisation: Wildlife Conservation Society
Country: Bangladesh
Species: Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) (VU) with five CR subpopulations; Indo- Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) (VU)
21. Saving vaquita from extinction through effective and permanent gear swaps
Organisation: World Wildlife Fund, Inc. Country: Mexico
Species: Vaquita (Phocoena sinus) (CR)
22. Securing the future of Gangetic dolphin in Brahmaputra river system (India) through local community engagement and empowerment
Organisation: Aaranyak
Country: India
Species: Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) (EN)
23. South African Cycad Species Protection Project
Organisation: Endangered Wildlife Trust Country: South Africa
Species: All Encephalartos cycad species found within South Africa (a total of 37 species).
24. Strengthening Protection and Habitat Management for the Critically Endangered Javan Rhino
Organisation: International Rhino Foundation
Country: Indonesia
Species: Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) (CR)
Javan banteng (Bos javanicus) (EN) (secondary target)
25. West African Manatee Conservation
Organisation: Sea to Shore Alliance, Inc.
Countries: Mali, Nigeria, Senegal
Species: West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) (VU)
Editor’s Notes
More information about SOS Save Our Species and its projects http://www.saveourspecies.org/
High-resolution photos are available:
Live studio quality audio interviews are available for broadcaster via our ISDN line (APTX/G722). Please call +41 22 999 0115 to book an interview slot.
To subscribe to the SOS Save Our Species newsletter: http://www.sospecies.org/newsletter
For more information or to set up interviews please contact:
Simon Bradley, SOS Communications and Fundraising Officer, t +41 22 999 0372, simon.bradley@iucn.org
Ewa Magiera, IUCN Media and Communications Officer, t +41 22 999 0346, ewa.magiera@iucn.org