New Fund Promises Billions of Dollars for Global Conservation
Congress establishes U.S. Foundation for International Conservation to bridge financial gap for communities, tribes and others working to ensure healthy lands and waters
WASHINGTON (December 20, 2024) — Globally, habitats for birds and other wildlife are increasingly at risk, with a lack of access to conservation funding being a major barrier to safeguarding vital lands and waters. To help rectify this growing need for resources, this week Congress passed legislation to create the United States Foundation for International Conservation. It will serve as a U.S.-led grant-making entity to support public-private partnerships that can fund up to $3 billion for conserving vulnerable habitat around the world over the next decade, it will do this by leveraging capital from private and philanthropic sectors to make cost-matched awards.
“With so many of the world’s natural landscapes in growing peril, and billions of birds and other wildlife at risk, this investment is desperately needed for improving the health of our planet,” said Marshall Johnson, chief conservation officer at the National Audubon Society. “The foundation’s funding will support numerous projects across the globe, working with host countries and local populations to conserve ecosystems and support the health and viability of migratory and non-migratory birds and other species, all while creating economic opportunities and helping halt the current biodiversity crisis.”
The bipartisan United States Foundation for International Conservation Act of 2023 (H.R. 6726/S. 618) was introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and in the Senate by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), along with original co-sponsors such as Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) and Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.); and Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.Mex.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.
Media Contact:
Jeff Billington, Jeff.Billington@audubon.org