$1 Million Cargill Gift to Boost Nature Conservancy’s
Global Conservation Work
Two-year commitment will target projects in China, Brazil and U.S.
Arlington, VA—January 10, 2005 —Cargill today announced a $1 million gift to The Nature Conservancy to support conservation and sustainable agriculture initiatives in three, priority-designated Conservancy sites, including China’s northwest Yunnan province, Brazil’s Amazon region, and along the Mississippi River in the United States. The two-year grant will help the Conservancy develop further capabilities and expertise in its work to protect some of the most biologically diverse ecosytems in the world, promote environmental awareness, and foster best practices around sustainable agriculture and economic development.
This expanded relationship between Cargill and The Nature Conservancy reflects both organizations’ increasing efforts to broaden the scope of global conservation work through more effective use of partnerships between the private sector and nongovernmental organizations.
“Since 1983, Cargill has funded a range of conservation initiatives with the Conservancy in North America, ” said Warren Staley, chair and CEO of Cargill. “This expanded, global relationship represents an entirely new level of our support and will enable us to help champion prudent conservation practices around the world that are simple, actionable and measurable.”
Cargill’s grant, along with matching funding from the British government, will support Conservancy efforts in Brazil’s Amazon region to increase awareness and use of agricultural best practices among soya producers and help promote sustainable economic development in a region that is experiencing rapid agricultural development. The Conservancy has been working with farmers, along with governmental and private sector agricultural partners, to encourage better management practices and conservation opportunities for critical habitat located on private lands.
“The Conservancy has already met with 200 area producers in Brazil’s Pará state to explain this initiative and generate collective interest in the development of best practices,” said Steve McCormick, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. “The Cargill partnership effort will help showcase compatible agriculture practices that balance socio-economic and ecological needs.”
In China, Cargill’s grant will assist the Yunnan Rivers Project, one of the Conservancy’s most notable international projects underway in northwest Yunnan province, an area considered one of the most biologically diverse, temperate eco-systems on Earth. The Conservancy is developing conservation and natural resource management plans for biologically rich areas to protect critical habitat and watersheds.
“The Conservancy’s work in the region is considered a first stage in assisting China’s government with the development of a national conservation blueprint,” said McCormick, who added that Cargill’s funding will support grassroots environmental awareness programs, alternative energy and economic development initiatives in the area.
In the United States, Cargill and The Nature Conservancy are working to implement a series of conservation strategies to help restore the natural systems of the Mississippi River. Those strategies include restoring bluff-floodplain landscapes, naturalizing water flow regime, promoting ecologically compatible land use, and informing and educating public officials and landowners about the threats to the natural resources of the region and the opportunities to address these threats. Through its Mississippi River programs, and with partners like Cargill, the Conservancy is working toward a future where the natural and human communities of the region can live and thrive together for generations to come.
“The relationship between Cargill and The Nature Conservancy helps advance the Conservancy’s scope and breadth of its global conservation work,” said McCormick. “We applaud Cargill’s vision and are grateful for its support. This is a tremendous example of what can be achieved through effective partnerships between the private sector and conservation groups.”
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