Deborah becomes a patron of Tusk

Twenty years ago Africa was in the midst of a poaching crisis. Black rhino were on the brink of extinction and the African elephant population was being slaughtered at a rate of 100,000 each year, just for their ivory. Tusk Trust was established in 1990 in response to an urgent need to halt the decline in Africa’s natural heritage and find a way to combine the interests of people and wildlife alike.

 

Since this time it has gained considerable experience initiating and funding a number of impressive conservation and community development programmes right across Africa. The Charity’s work to deliver direct sustainable conservation and environmental education has been widely covered on TV and in the media. In June 2010, Prince William and Prince Harry spent time visiting Tusk projects as they undertook their first joint Royal Tour of Southern Africa – the trip was filmed by Sky TV for an exclusive 60 min documentary, ‘Prince William’s Africa’ highlighting the work of the Charity.

 

HRH Prince William with Dr Tico McNutt and Charlie Mayhew in Okavango Delta after the presentation of a new Land Rover (co-sponsored by Deborah and Land Rover) towards the work of the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust (June 2010).  

Deborah became a Patron and Special Advisor to Tusk in 2010. In an article written for the Tusk newsletter, after a visit to Africa to visit several Tusk projects, Deborah wrote “we saw that through Tusk and the amazing people it works with that there is a deep understanding of the local issues and that the future lies with the protection of the wildlife through its people. We saw how the Tusk projects guide and encourage these people. We left Africa with a head stuffed full of sights, smells and sounds but more importantly, we left Africa with more hope than we’d arrived with.”

The Charity’s 40 projects, which range across 17 countries, are designed not only to deliver protection for endangered species, but also to help alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development and education amongst the rural communities who live alongside wildlife.

As the human population increases, the demand for land often leads to disastrous conflict with wildlife, Tusk’s approach to conservation recognises that the future of Africa’s rich biodiversity is as much dependant on promoting education and sustainable human development. So whilst Tusk continues to direct substantial funds towards the protection of many threatened species such as elephant, rhino, cheetah, gorilla and even turtles, much of the Charity’s work focuses on the need to improve education and schools.

 

Tusk has also been at the forefront of establishing innovative community driven conservation programmes with its partners across Africa. The Charity has attracted global support for its integrated approach - promoting sustainable programmes, which create employment, increase security, and alleviate poverty through the stimulation of nature-based enterprises. One such programme supported by Tusk has led to over 2 million acres of community land coming under a common conservation policy with initiatives that are directly benefiting 70,000 people and a significant wildlife population in northern Kenya.

Tusk strives to provide practical, logistical and financial support to the projects it supports. This includes funding operational budgets, the purchase of vehicles and other equipment, as well as the construction of schools, clinics, water projects, roads and airstrips. The Charity, which is registered in the UK and USA, has a reputation for being highly efficient in delivering donor funds to the field with the maximum possible effect.

To find out more about Tusk click here to visit their website

To read Deborah’s article on page 21 of the Tusk Talk newsletter click here