Wildlife Alliance

Logo of the Wildlife Alliance

Wildlife Alliance
Founded	1994
Founder	Suwanna Gauntlett
Type	501(c)(3)
Focus	wildlife conservation and environmental sustainability
Location	New York and Cambodia
Area served	Cambodia
Method	train and equip park rangers to fight crimes against nature, improve the management of protected areas, support sustainable development initiatives, empower countries to enforce transboundary wildlife regulations
Key people	Suwanna Gauntlett, founder and Chief Executive Officer Nick Marx, Care for Rescued Wildlife Director
Revenue	$4,469,627 (2011)
Slogan	Direct Protection to Forests and Wildlife
Website	http://www.wildlifealliance.org

Wildlife Alliance is an international non-profit wildlife and forest conservation organization with current programs and partnerships in Cambodia. It is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Phnom Penh. The logo of the organization is the Asian elephant, an emblematic species of Southeast Asia and the namesake for the organization's programs in the Southwest Elephant Corridor of the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia.

Programs

Wildlife Alliance's major ongoing programs are:

Care for Rescued Wildlife - Since 2001, Wildlife Alliance's Care for Rescued Wildlife program have ensured that all rescued wildlife unfit for immediate release are given expert treatment, natural enclosures, a healthy diet, and trained veterinary care for as long as necessary. Working at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, the staff has built large natural enclosures and designed excellent care protocols for the over 1,200 animals in their care. Wildlife Alliance has also created a Wildlife Rehabilitation Station in Koh Kong Province where animals that are deemed suitable for release into the wild are relocated to a forested enclosure in an appropriate area of habitat. Utilizing a soft release method, when the animals are ready for release the door to the enclosure is left open and the animals are free to leave at will. They continue to provide hands-off assistance and supplementary food at the enclosure location for as long as it is necessary.^[1]
Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) - A law enforcement squad devoted solely to combating illegal wildlife trade composed of Cambodian Forestry Administration officials and Military Police with technical and financial support from Wildlife Alliance. The team has a national mandate to suppress the illegal wildlife trade on roads, in markets and restaurants, and along the border. As of 2013, the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team has rescued more than 56,000 live animals and confiscated large quantities of animal parts and other contraband.^[2]
Tropical Reforestation Project - Located in Chi Phat, the Tropical Reforestation Project is a commune that employs local community members to collect seeds from more than 90 indigenous tropical tree species, grow the saplings in the nursery, and then replant trees in deforested areas to reconnect gaps in the elephant corridor. The Reforestation Project combats the impact of slash-and-burn farming and illegal logging while providing sustainable livelihoods to the very people who were previously engaging in those activities.^[3]
Zoning and Demarcation - Wildlife Alliance facilitates clear delineation of strictly protected forest zones versus community land where farmers can develop agriculture. The combination of a participatory planning process and the installation of visible posts on the ground has greatly helped in reducing land grabbing and deforestation.^[4]
Community Agriculture Development Project - The Community Agriculture Development Project in Sovanna Baitong focuses on improving the livelihoods of 187 families who were previously destroying the rainforest through slash-and-burn cultivation and hunting wildlife. With the technical assistance of Wildlife Alliance, villagers have created and manage a Community Agriculture Association that oversees agriculture production, marketing of goods, health care, education, natural resource conservation, a savings program, a micro-credit system. More than 85% of the families now earn well above the initial goal of $40 per month.^[5]
Community Based Ecotourism - The Community-Based Ecotourism project in Chi Phat focus on assisting the communities to develop micro-enterprises, infrastructure, and tourism attractions. The sites feature a variety of activities that help visitors explore the Southern Cardamoms and provide an alternative livelihood to former slash-and-burn farmers and illegal poachers. Since its inception it has been mentioned in numerous travel articles and the increased revenue and attention has led to the development of a community waste management system, one of the first of its kind in Cambodia ^[6]
Kouprey Express - Named for the Kouprey (Bos sauveli), a species of ox believed to be extinct in the wild, the Kouprey Express is a bus full of engaging and interactive educational materials that travels throughout the Southern Cardamoms visiting schools and rural villages teaching environmental protection and management. Beginning in 2008, the Kouprey Express adopted a targeted strategy to maximize impact by distributing reusable environmental education curricula and materials, and by training teachers in Koh Kong province how to use these curricula. Currently, the Kouprey Express team targets up to 20 primary schools per year conducting lessons in habitat and wildlife protection, pollution prevention, sustainable livelihoods, and energy use and climate change.^[7]
Southern Cardamom Forest Protection Program - The rangers that patrol the 720,000 hectares work in partnership with both the Wildlife Alliance and the Royal Government of Cambodia making the southern region of the Cardamom Mountains the best protected rainforest in Southeast Asia. Each of the 6 ranger stations holds twelve forest rangers and two Wildlife Alliance advisors comprising two patrol units. These rangers conduct daily patrols removing snares, confiscate illegal timber and dismantle poacher's camps. During the 18 months prior to the implementation of the ranger program, 37 elephants and 12 tigers were killed - only 4 elephants are known to have been killed since and there are no known reports of tiger killings.^[8]

Mission Statement

Wildlife Alliance is the leader in direct protection to forests and wildlife in the Southeast Asian tropical belt. Our mission is to combat deforestation, wildlife extinction, climate change, and poverty by partnering with local communities and governments..

Administration

Suwanna Gauntlett, CEO and founder of Wildlife Alliance, was paid $120,000 in 2012.^[9]

Suwanna Gauntlett is the founder and CEO of Wildlife Alliance and one of the original founders of WildAid. The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, and a volunteer International Advisory Board provides guidance on strategy, fundraising, and outreach.

Affiliations

The organization has conducted fieldwork in Asia in cooperation with Fauna and Flora International, Conservation International, Traffic (conservation programme), and other international conservation organizations. They are also a partnered with the FREELAND Foundation and the Russian Phoenix Fund. Wildlife Alliance is also a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Wildlife Conservation Network and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Wildlife Alliance has also partnered with Absolute Travel to bring a meaningful, customized, luxury travel experience to the Southern Cardamom Mountains

History and Background

Wildlife Alliance was originally founded in 1994 by a group of American and British conservationists under the name Global Survival Network, and reorganized in 1999 as WildAid. The organization restructured itself again in 2006, dividing the organization's programs between two organizations - a new separate WildAid conducting the Active Conservation Awareness Program, Shark Conservation, and Galapagos Islands programs and Wildlife Alliance conducting field operations in Southeast Asia and Russia.

Significant landmarks

1994 - Founding of Global Survival Network
1997 - Global Survival Network partners with Russian conservationists to launch the Phoenix Fund, a Vladivostok-based non-profit dedicated to protecting the Amur leopard, Siberian tiger, and their habitat and ecology
2000 - Launch of Care for Rescued Wildlife program at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, to provide veterinary treatment, rehabilitation and lifetime care for animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
2002 - Cambodia program creates "Wilderness Protection Mobile Unit" – now known as the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) – to stop the sale, purchase, and trade of illegally sourced wildlife and wildlife products.
2004 - Government of Thailand calls for regional wildlife law enforcement network to address Southeast Asia's role as a shipment hub for illegal wildlife products. Ultimate result is the creation of the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, of which Wildlife Alliance led the NGO support program from 2005 to 2008.
2005 - Initial assessment of wildlife and habitat threats in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia. When the Boxing Day tsunami devastates the region weeks later, WildAid returns to conduct a post-tsunami assessment to help Indonesian government agencies respond to the crisis.
2006 - Phoenix Fund Director, Sergei Beruznuk, wins a £30,000 Whitley Award recognizing his "outstanding achievements in nature conservation" related to re-routing an oil pipeline away from the habitat of critically endangered Amur leopard.
2007 - Original WildAid changes name to Wildlife Alliance. CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° series, Planet in Peril, features Wildlife Alliance programs in Thailand and Cambodia, including Care for Rescued Wildlife, Bokor National Park, and efforts to stop the illegal wildlife trade in Asia.
2008 - Wildlife Alliance launches Community-Based Ecotourism program in the village commune of Chi Phat, Cambodia.
2008 - Launches reforestation project to reconnect the fragmented rainforest in the Cardamom Mountains.
2009 - MSNBC and Jeff Corwin visit Cambodia to film Wildlife Alliance field projects for the 100 Heartbeats documentary
2009 - Wildlife Alliance initiates the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project in conjunction with the Royal Government of Cambodia’s Forestry Administration,
2010 - The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team gains official recognition from ten Asian countries as Cambodia’s national level wildlife crime task force, when the Cambodian Forestry Administration actively implements the Association of South East Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) in Cambodia.
2011 - Cambodian government reverses plan to construct titanium mine in Cardamom Mountains, in light of online petitions and advocacy led by Wildlife Alliance
2012 - Wildlife Alliance releases their iPhone app created in collaboration with TRAFFIC, and Jeff Corwin Connect to allow users learn more about Cambodia's endangered wildlife and help the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team stop the wildlife trade
2013 - Wildlife Alliance begins their Wildlife Anti-Trafficking Campaign in Cambodian Airports

External links

Wildlife Alliance - Home page
Community Based Ecotourism Project in Cambodia - A community-based ecotourism project in Cambodia's Cardamom mountains started by Wildlife Alliance in order to provide alternative livelihoods for illegal loggers and hunters, and reduce local poverty
Charity Navigator - Evaluation by America's premier independent charity evaluator
Absolute Travel - One-of-a-kind luxury travel experiences
Wall Street Journal - "A Fresh Start: Asian villages carve out a new life
The Guardian (UK) - "Conservationists hope to avoid teenage kicks over elephant's false leg"
Mongabay.com - "Cambodian prime minister cancels titanium mine project citing impact on biodiversity and local people"
The Boston Globe - "In Cambodia's remote southwest, a village revived through tourism"
The Washington Post - "Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains, full of secrets"
Forbes - "Why the ivory problem requires dealing with supply not demand"
Times Live - "Two sun bears rescued from Cambodian factory'

References

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