Latest News
Read the news from the Rufford Small Grants Foundation and supported projects. You can see the latest updates from projects here.
RSGF Holds First Nature Conservation Conference in Nepal
In January 2012 in collaboration with the Nepalese Government, all Nepalese recipients of a RSG were invited to meet and discuss their projects with Government officials, WWF Nepal, Bird Conservation Nepal and Nepal Nature. The theme was: Research in protected areas of Nepal : Interface between Researchers and Managers.
RSGF Director to Visit South America
During February 2012 there is the opportunity for any RSG recipient to meet with our Director in Buenos Aires, Lima, Cusco, Rio de Janeiro and Manaus. If you have NOT ALREADY been in contact with him and would like to meet Please e-mail him directly at josh@rufford.org
The Rainforest Alliance is pleased to announce that a profile for the Rufford Small Grants Foundation funded projects has been added to the Eco-Index:
A service of the Rainforest Alliance, the Eco-Index (www.eco-index.org) is to builds a cohesive network of conservationists that actively share project information and lessons learned. The Eco-Index features more than 1,250 profiles of conservation projects in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean and features the work of more than 900 NGOs, research institutions, and government agencies. Each profile is available in English and Spanish, and projects based in Brazil are also available in Portuguese.
To see a list of the 7 projects funded by the Rufford Small Grants Foundation that are available in the Eco-Index database, please visit this page.
To learn more about how the Eco-Index can help fulfil your foundation’s information-sharing and communications objectives, please visit: http://www.eco-index.org/sponsors/index.cfm.
We applaud the project directors who have committed to sharing information with their colleagues by participating in the Eco-Index. Through the Eco-Index, the projects that you fund are permanently archived and available to conservation colleagues worldwide.
Whitley Fund for Nature – Call for applications for the Whitley Awards 2012
The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a UK registered charity offering “Whitley Awards” to outstanding nature conservation leaders around the world. Whitley Awards are both an international profile prize and a form of project grant (currently £30,000 over one year).
The application process for the Whitley Awards 2012 is now open – the deadline for applications is Monday October 31st 2011.
Please visit www.whitleyaward.org to download an application form and find guidance on how to apply.
Previous RSG Grantees
Don't forget that we offer up to five grants here at Rufford Small Grants Foundation, so if you have already had your 1st RSG, 2nd RSG or a Booster grant there are actually two more stages in the grant process that you may be eligible for; a Continuation grant, followed by a Completion grant. Please follow the link if you wish to find out more http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/criteria
Rufford Small Grants Foundation now on Facebook
You will now find Rufford Small Grants Foundation on Facebook.
To make discussions available to a wider audience, the RSGF forums have moved to our Facebook page.
RSGF ONLINE APPLICATION
Please remember that we launched last year the new online application process. Press the green button above to apply!
If you have previously been awarded a grant, your existing Rufford Small Grants Foundation website login details will give you access to the new system and a record of your previous grants. You can submit new applications through the system, and monitor the progress of each one.
New applicants should sign up for an account on the new website and follow the instructions to supply profile and other information.
Citizen of the Year nomination for Environment and Tourism 2010
Rainer Schimpf wins The Herald GM Citizen of the Year Environmental 2010
http://multimedia.theherald.co.za/2010/10/23/citizen-of-the-year-environ...
http://ocean-messengers.com/index.php/en/News/GM-Citizen-of-the-Year.php
Vultures fly off with awards
Vulture Conservation Hugs the Limelight at National Conservation Day in Nepal
23 September 2010 (Kathmandu) – The Vulture Conservation Programme of Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN), a partner of Birdlife International won three of the eight awards offered on this day. The Community Managed Vulture Safe Zones of Nawalparasi and Rupandehi, both projects of BCN, shared the Abraham Conservation Award (organization). Similarly, Mr. Hirulal Dangaura, Monitoring and Education Assistant, BCN won the Abraham Conservation Award (individual). This award was established by the WWF to recognize and honor people and organizations at the grass-root level that have made significant contribution to conserving Nepal’s rich biodiversity since the year 1995. Mr. Anand Chaudhary, Vulture Conservation Programme Officer at BCN won the Mathew Preece and Yeshi Choden Lama Young Conservation Leader Award. This award was established in 2007, in memory of two young conservationists who passed away along with 24 other conservation leaders in a helicopter crash on September 23, 2006. “These Awards are like the Oscars for the conservation sector in Nepal,” says Dr. Hum Gurung, Chief Executive Officer of BCN, “and this year’s awards recognize the good work being done in the Vulture Safe Zones by BCN with the collaboration of Nepal Government, local community, veterinary professionals and international community.”
Rothschild's giraffe joins list of species threatened by extinction
Monday 9th August 2010
The Rothschild's giraffe is the latest charismatic African mammal to be declared "Endangered" by IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature), adding to the growing number of species under threat of extinction. The recent analysis by Fennessy and Brenneman 2010 indicates that the Rothschild's populations are in peril and the IUCN Red List supports this (http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/174469/0)
There are currently nine recognised giraffe sub-species and the Rothschild's is the second most imperilled, with fewer than 670 individuals remaining in the wild. Historically ranging across western Kenya, Uganda, and southern Sudan, it has been almost totally eliminated from most of its former range and now survives in only a few small and isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda.
In Kenya, all known wild populations of Rothschild's giraffe have been eradicated by agricultural development and remnant populations are confined to National Parks, private properties and other protected areas. These remaining populations are physically isolated from one another making it impossible for them to interbreed and population growth is further hindered as a result of the closed nature of these conservation areas which have reached or exceeded carrying capacities.
Sixty per cent of the world's remaining wild population of Rothschild's giraffe are found in Kenya (with the remainder in Uganda), a country that has recently shown its commitment to giraffe conservation. With the launch of a National Giraffe Conservation Strategy, the first giraffe-focussed conservation action plan of its kind, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is leading the way. This Strategy will work to conserve all three of the giraffe sub-species found in Kenya, in particular the endangered Rothschild's giraffe. Its development marks a first in giraffe conservation and raises awareness of the significance of, and urgent need to conserve these animals.
Despite low population figures and an "Endangered" status, little is known about the ecology and behaviour of Rothschild's giraffe in the wild, an issue that must be addressed if we are to develop and implement effective conservation strategies. To this end the Rothschild's Giraffe Project was launched in Spring 2010. This project seeks to provide the first scientific review of Rothschild's behaviour and ecology in the wild, and provide information about key ecological and habitat requirements necessary for the development and implementation of meaningful conservation initiatives.
Dr Julian Fennessy, well known in African conservation circles for his pioneering work in giraffe conservation, comments "I am delighted and of course saddened at the same time that the Rothschild giraffe has finally made the IUCN Red List status. We have been striving for this for a while now and hope this will highlight to the world the critical state its tallest creature is in. As the second giraffe sub-species (of 9 known) to now be listed as endangered, we all have our work cut out to form sound conservation strategies to improve the situation in the short, medium and long term. The whole thrust of our work here is to put strategies in place BEFORE it is too late - extinction is simply not an option."
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) is actively supporting the Rothschild's Giraffe Project as well as other giraffe research across Africa. These include the provision of technical support and funding, sharing data and results for a comprehensive approach to giraffe conservation. "I can't imagine a world without giraffes, this news makes it imperative we must act to protect and preserve these magnificent creatures." comments Lynn Sherr Patron, GCF. Having already raised a significant amount of funding to help support research into the West African giraffe (approximately 220 left in the wild in all of West Africa), focussed efforts by GCF will raise awareness of the plight of the Rothschild's giraffe and help protect this sub-species in the wild for generations to come.
If you would like to know more about GCF or specifically the Rothschild's Giraffe Project please go online to: www.giraffeconservation.org or www.girafferesearch.com