Has anybody ever heard of a World Land Trust?

[Joanne98]

British Charity Saves Environmental Wetland from Destruction
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/british.charity.saves.environmental.wetland.from.destruction/9103.htm

A British charity has recently saved thousands of acres of environmentally important wetland in South America from destruction.
by Anne Thomas
Posted: Saturday, January 13, 2007, 15:26 (GMT)Font Scale:A A A

A British charity has recently saved thousands of acres of environmentally important wetland in South America from destruction.

World Land Trust bought the land in the Pantanal area of northern Paraguay, working in partnership with Guyra, a Paraguayan bird life charity.

It is one of a number of land purchase projects which the UK organisation, based in Halesworth, Suffolk, is working on.

The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world and includes parts of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

Large parts of it are threatened by deforestation through logging and agricultural activities such as soy production, with one study estimating that 17% of its native vegetation had been destroyed.

It is home to some 3,500 species of plants, 650 species of birds and hundreds of species of mammals, reptiles and fish. Rare mammals include the giant anteater, giant otter, giant armadillo, jaguar and puma.

"There are many reasons why we should save the Pantanal," said Jose Luis Cartez from Guyra.

"Like all the knowledge we would lose if it disappears. For instance there are more than 300 species of fish that we know very little about.

"There are some reserves and national parks there, but they only tend to exist on paper. Deforestation there is very high," he added.

The Sid Templer Reserve, as it is now known, covers 3,600 hectares (about 10,000 acres) and there are plans to expand it to 10,000 hectares.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/british.charity.saves.environmental.wetland.from.destruction/9103.htm


I'm interested because of this story about the Bush Family buying land in Northern Paraguay. I wonder if these two stories are connected. A wildlife refuge would make a good security asset..

http://americaabroad.tpmcafe.com/blog/truthista/2007/jan/10/about_that_bush_family_ranch_in_paraguay
truthista's Blog
About that Bush Family Ranch in Paraguay...
By truthista | bio
1 of 1 people recommend this blog entry.

A government office forbidden by law from disseminating information domestically was the mouthpiece of choice for the administration to deny rumors that the Bush family purchased thousands of acres in a remote portion of northern Paraguay.

According to CNN, the State Department's USINFO Counter-Disinformation/Misinformation Team, led by Todd Leventhal, "helps U.S. embassies identify and rebut other nations' disinformation, most often fabrications about the United States planted in foreign newspapers or television shows and, these days, on the Internet."

The State Department's response is posted on the USINFO website in its "media archives." Curiously, the official denial (below) was not issued separately but was appended to an earlier statement responding to equally persistent rumors of a U.S. military base in Paraguay.

http://americaabroad.tpmcafe.com/blog/truthista/2007/jan/10/about_that_bush_family_ranch_in_paraguay

[Joanne98]

1. It sounds like a fundie operation....

Look at the books authored part at the bottom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Land_Trust
World Land Trust
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The logo of the TrustThe World Land Trust (originally the World Wide Land Conservation Trust) is a UK-based nonprofit environmental organization established in 1989. Its primary aims are to ensure conservation of plants, animals and natural communities in areas at risk . For this purpose, it privately buys and protects large tracts of land for purposes of protecting it, in a fashion similar to the Nature Conservancy by making use of land trusts. The organization also seeks to help in-situ conservation measures by providing training, capital and equipment for environmental stewardship in economically backward areas. It is affiliated to the World Conservation Union. Along with the WCU, it co-organized the first symposium on private nature reserves for conservation, named Land Purchase as an Intervention Strategy for Biodiversity Conservation in 2006. The noted environmentalist John Burton is the CEO of the Trust.


A short history
The World Land Trust (originally the World Wide Land Conservation Trust) came into being in 1989 when the Programme for Belize was launched to raise money to privately buy land in Belize to protect tropical rain forests. The core of the trust was a $ 10,000 bequest from the Massachussetts Audubon Society to John Burton, for the purposes of setting up an office in the United Kingdom for the trust in January 1989. An initial appeal was made in the BBC Wildlife magazine in April 1989 and was followed up by a fundraiser by noted naturalists Gerald Durrell and his wife Lee Durrell (who were co-founders of the Trust along with CEO John Burton) at the London Butterfly House in May 1989 when the Durrells formally declared the Trust open. The Trust then went on to help purchase and conserve land in Costa Rica and other Latin American countries like Patagonia in Argentina (again at the initiative of Gerald Durrell). They have since expanded operations to Asia, and even sponsor a project locally in the United Kingdom. The trust often works in close association with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Noted patrons over the years have included Sir David Attenborough, David Bellamy and David Gower.


List of projects

Central America
Friends of Belize, Belize (previously Programme for Belize)
Rainforest Action, Costa Rica
Tropical Forest Project, Ecuador
Carbon Sequestration Project, Ecuador
Sid Templer Reserve, Paraguay
REGUA project, Brazil
Patagonia Restoration Fund, Argentina

Asia
Reef and Mangrove projects, India
Wild lands elephant corridor, India
Danjugan Island Support Fund, Philippines
Reef and Mangrove projects, Philippines

Europe
Kites Hill Reserve, United Kingdom

Previous projects
Management of the conservatory Wyld Court (now The Living Rainforest) - a tropical forest exhibit, in Hampstead Norreys

External links
Official website of the trust



The Life and Times of Gerald Durrell v • d • e
Institutions associated with: Jersey Zoo • Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust • Wildlife Trust • Wildlife Preservation Canada • Mauritian Wildlife Foundation • Madagascar Fauna Group • Programme for Belize • World Land Trust • World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival

Co-conservationists: Lee Durrell • David Attenborough • Peter Scott • Jeremy Mallinson • Edward Whitley

Expeditions undertaken: Argentina • Australia • Belize • Bhutan • Cameroon • India • Madagascar • Malaysia • Mauritius • Mexico • New Zealand • Paraguay • Russia • Sierra Leone

Species associations: Aye-Aye • Gorilla • Mauritius Kestrel • Pink Pigeon • Pigmy Hog • Rockfowl • St. Lucia Parrot • Volcano Rabbit

Books authored: The Overloaded Ark • Three Singles to Adventure • The Bafut Beagles • The New Noah • The Drunken Forest • My Family and Other Animals • Encounters with Animals • A Zoo in My Luggage • The Whispering Land • Island Zoo • A Look at Zoos • Menagerie Manor • Two in the Bush • The Donkey Rustlers • Rosie is My Relative • Birds, Beasts and Relatives • Fillets of Plaice • Catch Me a Colobus • Beasts in My Belfry • The Talking Parcel • The Stationary Ark • Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons • The Garden of the Gods • The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium • The Mockery Bird • Ark on the Move • The Amateur Naturalist • How to Shoot an Amateur Naturalist • Durrell in Russia • The Fantastic Flying Journey • The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure • The Ark's Anniversary • Keeper • Toby the Tortoise • Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories • The Aye-Aye and I • Puppy Tales • The Best of Gerald Durrell

Illustrators: Ralph Thompson • Edward Mortelmans • Peter Barrett • Graham Percy • Keith West • Cliff Wright

Famous TV Series: Two in the Bush • Catch Me a Colobus • The Garden of the Gods • The Stationary Ark • Ark on the Move • The Amateur Naturalist • Ourselves and Other Animals • Durrell in Russia

Notable others: Durrell Family • Jacquie Durrell • Lawrence Durrell • Achirimbi II • Theodore Stephanides • Douglas Botting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Land_Trust


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Land_Trust"

[Joanne98]

4. Well the founder wasn't a fundie but he's dead and you can never

tell who took over. I guess I'm just getting too suspious lately.

[GemMom]

8. The initial "nut" money came from

The Massachusetts Audubon Society. Would you call THEM "fundie"?

Where's the tin foil? I need some....

[Joanne98]

10. You're right. I'm just getting to focused on Paraguay...

It's rumored that Rev Moon bought land there too. This is probably nothing.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

2. No, but have you heard of The Trust for Public Land?

Here's the link:

http://www.tpl.org/

[Joanne98]

3. No. What do they do?

[LonelyLRLiberal]

5. They help preserve land from development.

Let's say you own a farm with beautiful acreage and wildlife habitats that a city has surrounded or is approaching, and you don't want it to ever be developed. TPL can help you achieve that goal by putting the land into a trust. They have done some great work, including creating urban parks, etc. You should check out their website.

[jwirr]

6. I have never heard of them but I think calling them fundies may

be going too far. First of all it came out of Massachusetts and England. They are not known for their fundies. Also until very recently fundies have not made wet land or nature preservation one of their priorities. They are all being raptured out so they could care less.

I have heard of the organization to preserve public lands. They raise money to help stop development in such places as the north shore of Lake Superior. Have been active in buying up some of the shore nearest to our state parks.

[zalinda]

7. Go to their site

http://www.worldlandtrust.org I think you'll see that they look above board. And this is part of their work. http://www.carbonbalanced.org/personal/pcboffset.htm

zalinda

[Joanne98]

9. Thanx