The Nature Conservancy
Encyclopedia
The Nature Conservancy is a US
charitable
environmental organization
that works to preserve the plant
s, animal
s, and natural communities
that represent the diversity of life
on Earth
by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy works in more than 30 countries, including all 50 states of the United States. The Conservancy has over one million members, and has protected more than 69,000 square kilometers (17 million acre
s) in the United States and more than 473,000 square kilometers (117 million acres) internationally. The organization's assets total $5.64 billion as of 2009.
The Nature Conservancy is the Americas
' third-largest nonprofit
by assets, and its largest environmental nonprofit by assets and by revenue.
The Nature Conservancy rates as one of the most trusted national organizations in Harris Interactive
polls every year since 2005. Forbes magazine rated The Nature Conservancy's fundraising efficiency at 88% in its 2005 survey of the largest U.S. charities. The Conservancy received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator
in 2008 (three-star in 2010) and was named by that organization in 2005 on their list of "10 of the Best Charities Everyone's Heard Of". The American Institute of Philanthropy
gives the Conservancy an A− rating and includes it on its list of "Top-Rated Charities".
The Nature Conservancy is led by President and CEO Mark Tercek, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs
, and an adjunct professor at New York University
's Stern School of Business. The organization draws from all segments of the community. Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, the commander of coalition forces during the First Gulf War
, was a member of the Conservancy's President's Conservation Council.
supported primarily by private donations.
The Nature Conservancy works with all sectors of society including businesses, individuals, communities, partner organizations, and government agencies to achieve its goals. The Nature Conservancy is known for working effectively and collaboratively with traditional land owners such as farmers and ranchers, with whom it partners when such a partnership provides an opportunity to advance mutual goals. The Nature Conservancy is in the forefront of private conservation groups implementing prescribed fire
to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems and working to address the threats to biodiversity posed by non-native and invasive plants and animals.
The Nature Conservancy has pioneered new land preservation techniques such as the conservation easement
and debt for nature swaps. A conservation easement is a way for land owners to ensure that their land remains in its natural state while capitalizing on some of the land's potential development value. Debt for nature swaps are tools used to encourage natural area preservation in third world countries while assisting the country economically as well: in exchange for setting aside land, some of the country's foreign debt is forgiven.
The Nature Conservancy's expanding international conservation efforts include work in North America
, Central America
, and South America
, Africa
, the Pacific Rim
, the Caribbean
, and Asia
. Increasingly, the Conservancy focuses on projects at significant scale, recognizing the threat habitat fragmentation
brings to plants and animals. Below are a few examples of such work:
The Nature Conservancy was instrumental in the creation in 2004 of the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado
. The Conservancy's efforts in China
's Yunnan
province, one of the most vital centers of plant diversity in the northern temperate hemisphere, serve as a model for locally based ecotourism
with a global impact. The Nature Conservancy and its conservation partner, Pronatura Peninsula Yucatán, are working to halt deforestation
on private lands in and around the 1.8 million acre (7,300 km²) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve
, along the Mexico
-Guatemala
border. In November 2004, 370,000 acres (1,500 km²) of threatened tropical forest in Calakmul were permanently protected under a historic land deal between the Mexican federal and state government, Pronatura Peninsula Yucatán, four local communities and the Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy's programs in Idaho
, Montana
and Wyoming
are working together to build partnerships and enhance the profile of the conservation needs in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem by supporting voluntary, private land conservation of important wildlife habitat. Conservation easements, land acquisition, stewardship agreements, grassbanks, prescribed fires and weed districts are a few of the tools the Conservancy and its partners use to protect this region's natural heritage. The Nature Conservancy's worldwide office is located in Arlington, Virginia
.
The Conservancy was instrumental in the 2004 establishment of the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
in Minnesota
. Glacial Ridge is reputed to be the largest tallgrass prairie and wetlands restoration project ever.
In 2007 the Nature Conservancy made a 161000 acres (651.5 km²) purchase of New York forestland from Finch Paper Holdings LLC for $110 million, its largest purchase ever in that state.
In 2008 June The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land
announced they reached an agreement to purchase approximately 320000 acres (1,295 km²) of western Montana forestland from Plum Creek Timber
Company (NYSE:PCL) for $510 million. The purchase, known as the Montana Legacy Project
, is part of an effort to keep these forests in productive timber management and protect the area’s clean water and abundant fish and wildlife habitat, while promoting continued public access to these lands for fishing, hiking, hunting and other recreational pursuits.
, as the Atlantic Forest – one of the biggest tropical forests in the world – helps regulate the atmosphere and stabilize global climate. The reforestation of the Atlantic Forest has the capability to remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The Nature Conservancy states that this is equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road. The Atlantic Forest’s restoration could help to slow the process of climate change that is affecting the earth.
The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees Campaign also aims to protect 10 critical watersheds in the Atlantic Forest that provide water and hydro power
to more than 70 million people, create 20,000 direct jobs, and an additional 70,000 indirectly as part of this effort. The Plant a Billion Trees Campaign is also associated with The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program, which consists of nine locations, including Brazil.
s from the Atlantic Forest, as well as video of the Atlantic Forest and detailed information about the seedlings on their micro-site at http://www.plantabillion.org. The Web
site also features a news feed and an interactive map of the Atlantic Forest region in Brazil, as well as information on many of the plants, animals, and people that are impacted by the plight of the forest and who may benefit from its restoration.
Some of the seeds being planted consist of:
As a part of this launch, The Nature Conservancy pledged to plant 25 million trees as part of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)’s Billion Tree Campaign. This campaign encourages individuals and organizations to plant their own trees around the world and record this action on the website as a tally. The UNEP Billion tree Campaign is currently attempting to plant 7 billion trees by the end of 2009.
On Earth Day 2009, Disneynature’s film “Earth” debuted, promising to plant a tree for every ticket sold to the film in its first week. This resulted in a donation of 2.7 million trees to the Plant a Billion Trees program.
The Nature Conservancy and its scientists also work with other conservation organizations, local landowners, state and federal officials, agencies, and private companies to protect, connect, and buffer what is left of the Atlantic Forest.
and the World Wildlife Fund for using hunting
in its management policies. Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, the Commander of coalition forces during the First Gulf War, was a member of the President's Conservation Counsel of the Conservancy, is also a member of the trophy hunting organization the Safari Club
From 2005 to 2007 the Nature Conservancy, along with the National Park Service
, implemented an eradication program to remove non-native feral pigs from Santa Cruz Island, in the Channel Islands of California
. Throughout, the program was challenged in the courts, but those challenges were rejected. The program removed 5036 pigs. Island Fox numbers have since rebounded, from a presumed low of 100 to an estimate of 700 individuals as of the Summer of 2009.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
charitable
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
environmental organization
Environmental organization
An environmental organization is an organization that seeks to protect, analyze or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation or lobby for these goals....
that works to preserve the plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s, animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, and natural communities
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
that represent the diversity of life
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy works in more than 30 countries, including all 50 states of the United States. The Conservancy has over one million members, and has protected more than 69,000 square kilometers (17 million acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s) in the United States and more than 473,000 square kilometers (117 million acres) internationally. The organization's assets total $5.64 billion as of 2009.
The Nature Conservancy is the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
' third-largest nonprofit
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
by assets, and its largest environmental nonprofit by assets and by revenue.
The Nature Conservancy rates as one of the most trusted national organizations in Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive , headquartered in New York, New York, is a custom market research firm, known for the Harris Poll. Harris works in a wide range of industries...
polls every year since 2005. Forbes magazine rated The Nature Conservancy's fundraising efficiency at 88% in its 2005 survey of the largest U.S. charities. The Conservancy received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...
in 2008 (three-star in 2010) and was named by that organization in 2005 on their list of "10 of the Best Charities Everyone's Heard Of". The American Institute of Philanthropy
American Institute of Philanthropy
The American Institute of Philanthropy is a 501 nonprofit organization, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency, accountability, governance, and fundraising. Its official website is known as...
gives the Conservancy an A− rating and includes it on its list of "Top-Rated Charities".
The Nature Conservancy is led by President and CEO Mark Tercek, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, and an adjunct professor at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Stern School of Business. The organization draws from all segments of the community. Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, the commander of coalition forces during the First Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, was a member of the Conservancy's President's Conservation Council.
Approach
The Nature Conservancy takes a scientific approach to conservation, selecting the areas it seeks to preserve based on analysis of what is needed to ensure the preservation of the local plants, animals, and ecosystems. The Nature Conservancy is one of the world's largest environmental organizations as measured by number of members and area protected. It is a nonprofit organizationNonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
supported primarily by private donations.
The Nature Conservancy works with all sectors of society including businesses, individuals, communities, partner organizations, and government agencies to achieve its goals. The Nature Conservancy is known for working effectively and collaboratively with traditional land owners such as farmers and ranchers, with whom it partners when such a partnership provides an opportunity to advance mutual goals. The Nature Conservancy is in the forefront of private conservation groups implementing prescribed fire
Controlled burn
Controlled or prescribed burning, also known as hazard reduction burning or Swailing is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for...
to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems and working to address the threats to biodiversity posed by non-native and invasive plants and animals.
The Nature Conservancy has pioneered new land preservation techniques such as the conservation easement
Conservation easement
In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...
and debt for nature swaps. A conservation easement is a way for land owners to ensure that their land remains in its natural state while capitalizing on some of the land's potential development value. Debt for nature swaps are tools used to encourage natural area preservation in third world countries while assisting the country economically as well: in exchange for setting aside land, some of the country's foreign debt is forgiven.
Featured project sites
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Increasingly, the Conservancy focuses on projects at significant scale, recognizing the threat habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
brings to plants and animals. Below are a few examples of such work:
The Nature Conservancy was instrumental in the creation in 2004 of the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The Conservancy's efforts in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
province, one of the most vital centers of plant diversity in the northern temperate hemisphere, serve as a model for locally based ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
with a global impact. The Nature Conservancy and its conservation partner, Pronatura Peninsula Yucatán, are working to halt deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
on private lands in and around the 1.8 million acre (7,300 km²) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve
Calakmul Biosphere Reserve
The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve is located at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, in Calakmul Municipality in the state of Campeche, bordering the Guatemalan department of El Petén to the south. It occupies 7,231.85 km² and includes about 12% of the subperennial jungles of Mexico. Its...
, along the Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
border. In November 2004, 370,000 acres (1,500 km²) of threatened tropical forest in Calakmul were permanently protected under a historic land deal between the Mexican federal and state government, Pronatura Peninsula Yucatán, four local communities and the Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy's programs in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
are working together to build partnerships and enhance the profile of the conservation needs in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem by supporting voluntary, private land conservation of important wildlife habitat. Conservation easements, land acquisition, stewardship agreements, grassbanks, prescribed fires and weed districts are a few of the tools the Conservancy and its partners use to protect this region's natural heritage. The Nature Conservancy's worldwide office is located in Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
.
The Conservancy was instrumental in the 2004 establishment of the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was created on October 12, 2004, the 545th National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. Its creation was the result of cooperation between at least 30 agencies or governmental entities. The creation of the refuge was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy,...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Glacial Ridge is reputed to be the largest tallgrass prairie and wetlands restoration project ever.
In 2007 the Nature Conservancy made a 161000 acres (651.5 km²) purchase of New York forestland from Finch Paper Holdings LLC for $110 million, its largest purchase ever in that state.
In 2008 June The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a land conservation nonprofit founded in 1972 by Huey Johnson and based in San Francisco, California in the United States. TPL works throughout the United States to conserve land for people as parks, gardens, and other natural places.- TPL Conservation Initiatives :TPL...
announced they reached an agreement to purchase approximately 320000 acres (1,295 km²) of western Montana forestland from Plum Creek Timber
Plum Creek Timber
Plum Creek Timber is the largest private landowner in the United States. Most of its lands were originally purchased, or otherwise acquired as timberland....
Company (NYSE:PCL) for $510 million. The purchase, known as the Montana Legacy Project
Montana Legacy Project
The Montana Legacy Project is a three phase purchase of more than of land owned by Plum Creek Timber in northwestern Montana. The land is within the counties of Missoula, Mineral, Lake and Powell...
, is part of an effort to keep these forests in productive timber management and protect the area’s clean water and abundant fish and wildlife habitat, while promoting continued public access to these lands for fishing, hiking, hunting and other recreational pursuits.
Plant a Billion Trees campaign
The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees Campaign is an effort to restore 2,500,000 acres (10,100 km2) of land and plant 1 billion trees by 2015 in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Each donated dollar results in one planted tree in the Atlantic Forest.Environmental benefits
The Plant a Billion Trees campaign has also been identified as a tool to help slow climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, as the Atlantic Forest – one of the biggest tropical forests in the world – helps regulate the atmosphere and stabilize global climate. The reforestation of the Atlantic Forest has the capability to remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The Nature Conservancy states that this is equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road. The Atlantic Forest’s restoration could help to slow the process of climate change that is affecting the earth.
The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees Campaign also aims to protect 10 critical watersheds in the Atlantic Forest that provide water and hydro power
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
to more than 70 million people, create 20,000 direct jobs, and an additional 70,000 indirectly as part of this effort. The Plant a Billion Trees Campaign is also associated with The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program, which consists of nine locations, including Brazil.
Involvement in the community
The Nature Conservancy also features e-cardE-card
An e-card is similar to a postcard or greeting card, with the primary difference being that it is created using digital media instead of paper or other traditional materials. E-cards are made available by publishers usually on various Internet sites, where they can be sent to a recipient, usually...
s from the Atlantic Forest, as well as video of the Atlantic Forest and detailed information about the seedlings on their micro-site at http://www.plantabillion.org. The Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
site also features a news feed and an interactive map of the Atlantic Forest region in Brazil, as well as information on many of the plants, animals, and people that are impacted by the plight of the forest and who may benefit from its restoration.
Tree planting
The Nature Conservancy plants one tree in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil for each dollar donated by supporters.Some of the seeds being planted consist of:
- Guapuruvu Tree (Schizolobium parahybaSchizolobium parahybaSchizolobium parahyba is a tree species from tropical America in the family Fabaceae. S. parahyba is a deciduous plant that can grow as fast as 3 meters per year, to reach up to 30 meters in height. It is typical of secondary rainforests. It is an indigenous plant of the Atlantic forest of Brazil....
) – An indigenous plant of Atlantic Forest, this has one of the fastest growth rates of all the native species. - Golden Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia umbellate) – According to popular belief, when this tree’s yellow blooms appear, no more frosts will occur. The wood of a Golden Trumpet Tree has the same fire rating as concrete and is denser than water. Illegal logging activity has grown due to this tree’s growing popularity.
- Ice-Cream Bean Tree (Inga edulisInga edulisInga edulis is a fruit native to South America. It is widely grown, especially by indigenous Amazonians, for shade, food, timber, medicine, and production of the alcoholic beverage cachiri...
) – Leafy and abundant, this tree controls weeds and erosion. Its popular fruit is a long pod up to a few feet, containing a sweet pulp surrounding large seeds. - Capororoca Tree (Myrsine ferruginea) – Birds like the Rufous-bellied Thrush enjoy the fruit off of this tree.
History of the campaign
The Nature Conservancy launched the Plant a Billion Trees Campaign in 2008 with a micro-site (http://plantabillion.org) that is affiliated but not hosted by The Nature Conservancy’s Web site, http://www.nature.org.As a part of this launch, The Nature Conservancy pledged to plant 25 million trees as part of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)’s Billion Tree Campaign. This campaign encourages individuals and organizations to plant their own trees around the world and record this action on the website as a tally. The UNEP Billion tree Campaign is currently attempting to plant 7 billion trees by the end of 2009.
On Earth Day 2009, Disneynature’s film “Earth” debuted, promising to plant a tree for every ticket sold to the film in its first week. This resulted in a donation of 2.7 million trees to the Plant a Billion Trees program.
Partnerships
The Plant a Billion Trees Campaign has followed The Nature Conservancy’s approach of partnering with larger organizations (such as Disneynature, Planet Green, Penguin Books, Payless Shoesource, AT&T, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, and Visa) to leverage donations from supporters and increase efficiency and effectiveness of the campaign.- Penguin Classics sponsored a Penguin Walk to benefit the Plant a Billion Trees Campaign on June 6, 2009 as well.
- Payless Shoesource sponsored the Plant a Billion Trees Campaign by giving $1 to The Nature Conservancy for every Plant a Billion Trees reusable bag sold between 4/13/09 to 12/31/09 (sold at a retail value of $1.99) and $1 from each zoe&zac branded product sold between 4/13/09 and 5/4/09. Payless guaranteed a minimum total contribution of $100,000 in 2009 from these sales and the sales of other merchandise during 2009.
- Panasonic has been involved by planting a tree for each customer who selects The Nature Conservancy in their “Giving Back” program.
- Organic Bouquet has donated 10 percent for every flower and gift purchased during the month of April 2008 at www.organicbouquet.com/nature.
The Nature Conservancy and its scientists also work with other conservation organizations, local landowners, state and federal officials, agencies, and private companies to protect, connect, and buffer what is left of the Atlantic Forest.
Criticism
Over the years, The Nature Conservancy has faced a number of criticisms. They fall into the following main categories:Too close to business
Some environmentalists consider industrial development to be antagonistic to environmentalism, and disapprove of The Nature Conservancy's policy of permitting oil drilling, timbering, mining, and natural gas drilling on land donated to the Conservancy.Questionable resale
There have been allegations of The Nature Conservancy obtaining land and reselling it at a profit, sometimes to supporters, who have then made use of it in ways not perceived by many as being sufficiently environmentally friendly. The rationale for the resale has been that the profit allows The Nature Conservancy to increase its preservation of what the Nature Conservancy claims are more important locations. However, the Conservancy does have a no-net-profit policy that has been in effect for years for all transactions of this type.Animal rights
The Nature Conservancy has also been criticized, like many large environmental groups such as the Sierra ClubSierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
and the World Wildlife Fund for using hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
in its management policies. Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, the Commander of coalition forces during the First Gulf War, was a member of the President's Conservation Counsel of the Conservancy, is also a member of the trophy hunting organization the Safari Club
From 2005 to 2007 the Nature Conservancy, along with the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, implemented an eradication program to remove non-native feral pigs from Santa Cruz Island, in the Channel Islands of California
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
. Throughout, the program was challenged in the courts, but those challenges were rejected. The program removed 5036 pigs. Island Fox numbers have since rebounded, from a presumed low of 100 to an estimate of 700 individuals as of the Summer of 2009.
See also
- Climate, Community & Biodiversity AllianceClimate, Community & Biodiversity AllianceThe Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance is an initiative led by Conservation International, CARE, The Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Alliance, and the Wildlife Conservation Society to promote the development of land management activities that simultaneously deliver significant benefits for...
- List of environmental issues
- List of environmental organizations
- Natural capitalNatural capitalNatural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to goods and services relating to the natural environment. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future...
- Natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
- Natural landscapeNatural landscapeA natural landscape is a landscape that is unaffected by human activity. A natural landscape is intact when all living and nonliving elements are free to move and change. The nonliving elements distinguish a natural landscape from a wilderness. A wilderness includes areas within which natural...
- Natural resourceNatural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
- NatureNatureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- Sustainable developmentSustainable developmentSustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
- Timeline of environmental eventsTimeline of environmental eventsThe timeline lists geological, astronomical, and climatological events in relation to events in human history which they influenced. For the history of humanity's perspective on these events, see timeline of the history of environmentalism...