At World Land Trust, our conservation mission has always been to weave community and ecological protection together, bringing the relationship between nature and people to the forefront of work to restore habitats and protect species.
Today, we’re delighted to share a new report containing the most recent updates from our last two Spring Appeals: Project Mongma Rama in 2022 and Madagascar: A Forest for the Future in 2023.
This report is a thank you to everyone who helped us meet our fundraising targets of £350,000 for Project Mongma Rama and £586,250 for Madagascar: A Forest for the Future.
With your support, these projects are making significant positive changes to the Garo Hills of India and Madagascar’s Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika forests, all in close partnership with local communities. Click the image below to find out how your donations are helping to make a difference:
In our report, you’ll read about the great progress our partner, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), is making with local landowners setting aside land to become Village Reserve Forests. So far, 445 hectares have been notified within the Nokrek-Emangre Elephant Corridor and 40 hectares restored by planting 46,000 trees.
Inclusive community events have also been held to inspire collective action around biodiversity and forest protection. This has offered a great opportunity to spread awareness of the Garo Green Spine mission, and encouraged young people to discuss ideas for conserving their surrounding forests and rich biodiversity.
Your much-needed support means that WTI can continue to help local people coexist in these landscapes with migratory elephant herds, Critically Endangered pangolins and India’s only ape species, the Western Hoolock Gibbon.
Alongside elephants, 186 species were observed to have been utilising WTI’s Village Reserve Forests and elephant corridors between October and December 2023. Credit: David Bebber
The report also shines a light on the incredible work taking place in Madagascar, thanks to our partner Missouri Botanical Garden – Madagascar Programme (MBG-Madagascar).
Over the past year, MBG-Madagascar has begun securing and restoring land in the threatened Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika forests. There are already 23,169 plants in the plant nursery, and 12 village nurserymen have been employed to collect seeds and care for plants for the restoration mission of the project.
Funds donated by WLT supporters also enable MBG-Madagascar to continue learning about the remarkable, and possibly new, species at Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika. In October 2023, two species of Lemur which may be new to science were recorded at the project site. Additionally, a local botanist recorded the Vulnerable palm Beccariophoenix madagascariensis within the forests – the first scientific recording of this species here!
Rangers and local community members undertake daily forest patrols within the Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika Protected Area. Credit: MBG-Madagascar
If you donated to Project Mongma Rama or Madagascar: A Forest for the Future, all of us at WLT would like to say another huge thank you for your support. None of this would have been possible without your generosity.
Together with our partners, your actions are creating incredible chain reactions on the frontlines of nature conservation.