UAE President boosts fight against extinction crisis through Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the UAE, has pledged $40 million to the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ Fund), demonstrating the leader’s keen interest in nature and the country’s long-term commitment to environment conservation.

Established by His Highness in 2009, the Fund has been lending its substantial support to grassroots species conservation programmes across 170 countries. The latest contribution is set to increase the Fund’s endowment to more than $70 million by 2028.

Razan Al Mubarak, Managing Director of the MBZ Fund and UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, made the announcement on the contribution as she addressed delegates at the Asian Venture Philanthropy Forum (AVPF) Global Conference 2024.

MBZ Fund shielding vulnerable species from harm

The latest move contributes to the Fund’s small grants programme – supporting direct species conservation initiatives through $25,000 per project. The programme funds initiatives helping the most vulnerable species on the planet.

The programme supports species listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In addition, it focuses on species classified as Data Deficient by the IUCN – or essentially, species about which little is known but are likely threatened.

Listing a species as threatened means that the amount of pressure on its survival – either due to habitat loss, pollution, climate change, hunters and poachers or a combination of factors – has reached a critical point, according to Razan Al Mubarak.

MBZ Fund a lifeline for species and conservationists alike

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund also believes that conservationists are just as important and threatened as the species they so passionately try to protect. It supports conservationists by helping them perform scientific projects that they deem important.

The Fund is a lifeline for species and conservationists alike. Scores of living organisms are vanishing at an unprecedented and alarming rate. Tackling the extinction crisis is not just a matter of empathy, but an act of self-interest as we all depend on nature.

Moreover, the decision to more than double the original endowment was motivated by an analysis of achievements of the Fund. Since its establishment, the entity has supported conservation programmes across all seven continents, including Antarctica.