Darwin Initiative showcased to international audience
![A rare photo of wild elephants at the waterhole in the Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary.From Darwin project: Afro-Asian Elephant Community Conservation Network, Kanchanaburi Province, West Thailand [Project ref: 14-024]. Photographer: Arunporn Sri-lam.](/news/graphics/elephants.jpg)
Defra‘s Darwin Initiative, which aims to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of resources around the world, was yesterday showcased to an international audience.
Minister for Climate Change, Biodiversity and Waste, Joan Ruddock opened the event which included guest speaker Alastair Fothergill, producer of the BBC series ‘Planet Earth’. The event highlighted the Darwin Initiative as a model of best practice in securing conservation gains in developing countries and looked at the progress of the scheme since its launch in 1992.
So far the Darwin Initiative has committed over £60 million to 464 projects in more than 100 countries, with training provided under the scheme reaching over 35,000 people.
The Darwin Initiative has investigated the dramatic decline in vultures across India and Asia and successfully identified the source of the decline, which was reported to be diclofenac, a veterinary drug administered to cattle. Findings from the project have led the Government to impose a ban prohibiting India to manufacture and sell this drug.
In Tanzania, the scheme has assisted park ecologists and rangers in monitoring and assessing elephants in Mikumi National Park. This has resulted in a long term strategy for the survival of African elephants and their habitats. At a national level, the data collated has been used to support the Government of Tanzania’s efforts to address illegal poaching.
The scheme has also provided funding for the training of sixteen ‘Darwin Fellows’. Darwin Fellowships are targeted at promising members of recent or current Darwin Initiative projects, from countries rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources.
Drawing on UK expertise in biodiversity, the programme aims to give Fellows the opportunity to broaden their skills in biodiversity, typically by working towards formal qualifications or by developing policy skills. A review of Darwin Fellows has shown that this experience helps to develop them in their professional careers, with the majority returning home to secure jobs in the field of biodiversity conservation.
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Page published: 6 December 2007