With Fondation Segré’s commitment to help protect the biodiversity of our planet through the active conservation of threatened species and their habitats and the restoration of degraded ecosystems, the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) and its Trust are proud to have been selected as funding recipients over the next three years (2019 – 2021).
This follows a joint application to Fondation Segré to help ensure that people working in the field of conservation are given the necessary skills to carry out their jobs to the benefit of wildlife conservation and communities across southern Africa.
In forging this partnership, it was clear that Fondation Segré’s strategic priorities dovetail with the College and the Trust’s objectives. In particular these aim to contribute to ensuring the long term viability of wildlife populations, maintaining, restoring and protecting critical habitats and functional ecosystems, and fostering the sustainable use of renewable natural resources.
“The foundation’s support of educational activities, in particular specialized training of technical staff, is of course of particular relevance to us as a training institution,” said SAWC CEO Theresa Sowry.
“The work the foundation is doing to cooperate with the relevant regulatory and enforcement institutions to prevent and mitigate the impact of illegal hunting and trading of wildlife is also a high priority for us as this has a direct bearing on what is happening on the ground in terms of poaching. Law enforcement is a particularly important part of that mandate and better trained and equipped field rangers and wildlife area managers add much needed weight against the scourge of poaching or illegal harvesting, ” she added.
It is vital for conservation organisations to equip the custodians of our natural resources with the skills needed to tackle the formidable challenges facing conservation today. In mutual support of the need to protect the biodiversity of our planet, Fondation Segré directly undertakes conservation projects and offers financial support to partner organisations. “We believe that good management and direct action can stem some of the losses and Fondation Segré strives to contribute to this collective effort in ways that achieve tangible results and improve prospects for the future. We look forward to working with the Southern African Wildlife College and the Southern African Wildlife College Trust to achieve this,” said founder Dr. Claudio Segré.
About the SAWC
The Southern African Wildlife College is based 10 km west of the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Established in 1996, it is a non-profit organization delivering conservation education as well as training and skills development programmes to help conserve the region’s rich biological diversity and ensure that its threatened species are conserved and protected. In doing so, the College, which is an accredited higher education and training facility, provides tomorrow’s conservation leaders, field rangers and the community with the skills needed to become partners in saving the continent’s natural heritage. For more information, visit www.wildlifecollege.org.za
About SAWCT
The Southern African Wildlife College Trust, a public benefit organisation, was established in 2000 by WWF South Africa as a long-term approach to funding education in nature and wildlife conservation management at the Southern African Wildlife College, to ensure the sustainability of this vital work. Since inception the Trust has disbursed over R13 million which includes over 80 scholarships and bursaries to assist top deserving students at the College and impact conservation across nine African countries.
About Fondation Segré
Fondation Segré, which is based in Switzerland, was established in 1996, initially with a very broad scope: to promote humanitarian, scientific, educational, artistic and environmental projects. For the first ten years, the Foundation committed funds in each of these fields. However, in wanting to focus its impact, the Foundation decided to narrow its areas of interest and select specific projects in which they could play an active, decisive role. Conservation of nature and of biodiversity emerged as the predominant interest. Today the Foundation’s focus is firmly entrenched in the protection of species, which are the building blocks of nature, and their habitats. It remains committed to helping protect the biodiversity of our planet through the active conservation of threatened species and their habitat and the restoration of degraded ecosystems.
