Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Marvelous Spatuletail - photo Greg Homel

In December 2007, ABC received notification of a three-year $1.56 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. This is the second major grant that ABC has received from the Foundation since 2004. This most recent grant will help to conserve key sites for endangered birds and biodiversity in the Andes to Amazon region of South America, building on the Foundation's earlier support. Among the thousands of species of animals and plants that will benefit from the grant are some of the world’s most endangered birds including the Royal Cinclodes, Jocotoco Antpitta, and Red-fronted Macaw.

“The rarest birds and their habitats can be conserved if sufficient resources are made available,” said George Fenwick, ABC’s President. “Thanks to the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, some of the world’s most endangered birds and ecosystems have just seen their chances of survival greatly improve.”

Royal Cinclodes. Photo: Valère Claverie

The grant will include the development of nature-based tourism to finance the long-term management of key sites for birds and biodiversity, support for the improved management of existing protected areas, the transfer of fuel-efficient technology among indigenous communities in the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia, and the creation of new community-based reserves to protect watersheds, wildlife, and support local economies. It includes conservation projects in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

“This important new grant builds on work conducted by ABC and its South American partner groups over the past three years with Moore Foundation support, by enabling us to reach for the Holy Grail in wildlife conservation: financial self-sufficiency for individual protected areas,” said ABC Vice President, Mike Parr. “This is something that many projects are striving to achieve, and we hope that this grant will help lead the way in this important arena.”