Lemurs, eagles and St Helena’s cloud forest receive UK conservation funding

Wildlife and habitats from Madagascar’s lemurs and the cloud forest of St Helena are among those receiving a share of £35 million in UK conservation funding.

The latest round of the Government’s Darwin Initiative and Darwin Plus programmes will fund more than 80 local projects across 36 developing countries and 12 UK Overseas Territories.

Funding will go to restore natural systems and protect nature, secure food and water supplies and improve lives, the Environment Department (Defra) said.

Projects which are receiving funding include an investment in Bolivian forests which aims to protect up to 1.5 million hectares of forest and prevent the loss of 200,000 hectares as well as generate new income for indigenous communities and secure water supplies.

St Helena’s unique cloud forest, which the island depends on for capturing fresh water and which is rich in species found nowhere else on Earth, will be protected with a project led by the RSPB that will tackle the key threats to the woods of plant diseases and invasive species.

Shayla Ellick, the RSPB’s St Helena project manager said: “Thanks to vital support through the Darwin Plus programme, we’re continuing essential research and conservation work to restore St Helena’s cloud forest, home to over 250 species of plants and invertebrates found nowhere else on Earth and the main water source for the people of St Helena.”

Efforts to restore the wildlife-rich tropical rainforest in the Pantaron Mountain Range in the Philippines, improve the lives of indigenous people and protect the critically endangered Philippine eagle will also receive funding.

And funding will go to a project based in Madagascar which will promote regenerative agriculture to support reforestation in high-altitude forests, improving food security for farmers and their families and expanding habitat to protect 11 endangered lemur species and other unique wildlife.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “If we want to prosper into the future, then supporting international action to protect nature is essential.

“When ecosystems break down, food, water, health and economies unravel – fuelling instability, insecurity, and conflict across the globe.

“By supporting nature recovery across the world today, we are protecting our security and economic prosperity for the future,” she said.