AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY
BIANCA FRIEND, DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE
16 NOVEMBER 2019
A disappointing audience of only 20+ members enjoyed an outline of this organisation, privately funded yet owning or co-controlling millions of hectares of Australia’s wilderness.
Primarily their target is to control the frightening daily loss of our unique marsupial wildlife by introduced predators such as feral cats and foxes.
The UN Global Assessment report painted a stark picture into the global biodiversity crisis – nearly one million species are at risk of extinction. Sadly Australia leads the world in mammal extinctions: 31 species have gone since European settlement and a further 56 are threatened. The AWC team is reversing the tide. Their model has allowed them to secure populations of iconic endangered species such as Bilbies, Numbats, Nail-tailed wallabies and more.
The AWC leads the way with innovation, working with indigenous groups, pastoralists and governments to deliver effective conservation. AWC now manages 29 sanctuaries covering more than 6.5 million hectares.
It was proudly pointed out that over the last 10 years around 87% of AWC’s expenditure was incurred on conversation programmes, including land acquisitions. The balance was allocated to development (fundraising) and administration.
Mark Denniston – Course Coordination Team