Spread Season's Greenings!
When you give your friends and family alternative gifts through Conservation International this holiday season, you help to curb climate change, stop the deforestation of habitats worldwide, save species from extinction ... and you show them you really care - enough to protect our planet for future generations. These gifts represent just a small part of the important work that CI does around the world every day. Your contribution will be used where it’s needed most to preserve our living heritage.
Enter the quantity of each gift you'd like to give and click "Checkout." You'll have the option to send e-cards to your gift recipients on the next page.
There are over 80 different species of lemur, all of them native to the island country of Madagascar, off the African coast. Of these, one of the most endangered is the golden-crowned sifaka. Habitat loss and other factors have pushed this lemur to Critically Endangered status. Your gift of $20 will support our efforts to protect some of the last remaining places on Earth where endangered species like golden-crowned sifakas live.
The bastard quiver tree is one of the few perennial plants that is able to grow in its harsh semi-desert habitat. Today, the quiver tree is declining across much of its range due to warming and drying conditions, and there are currently fewer than 200 of these trees remaining in the world. Your gift of $35 will preserve endangered species like the bastard quiver tree.
The Galapagos are home to such extraordinary biodiversity that they are said to have helped inspire Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. They are also subject to severe El Niño weather patterns that warm the water and alter the climate. In the past El Niño events occurred infrequently enough that most wildlife could recover. But as the effects of climate change intensify, scientists are predicting more powerful and frequent warming events. Your gift can help us study the effects of climate change and help species adapt, on the Galapagos and elsewhere. Increased understanding of climate change will also help encourage governments and communities to act. Preserving biodiversity is an urgent priority, and your gift can make a difference.
Due to habitat loss, wildlife trade and other factors, fewer than 2,500 tigers are estimated to exist in the wild, with no more than 250 individuals in any one population. Some sub-species of tiger could become extinct in your lifetime if we don't take action. CI is partnering with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses and local communities to stop illegal wildlife trade and destruction of tiger habitat. Your gift can help save species like tigers, one of the most magnificent, and endangered, species on Earth.
The Philippine eagle is one of the largest and rarest birds of prey in the world, distinctive for its headdress of brown and white feathers. These eagles require tall trees for nesting and large swaths of intact rainforest for hunting. Today both these habitats are in short supply and fewer than 250 adults are believed to survive. CI has mounted the largest and most comprehensive effort ever to save the species, bringing together leading scientific and governmental organizations to help preserve the last crucial tracts of Philippine eagle habitat. Your effort can help expand these efforts - and save the Philippine eagle and other species from extinction.
The world's fourth-largest island, Madagascar split from present-day Africa some 160 million years ago. Its long geographical isolation and unique climate and topography help explain why such a high proportion of Madagascar's wildlife is "endemic," meaning it exists nowhere else on Earth. Today Madagascar's rich habitats are threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture, cattle grazing and mining. Roughly 80% of the country's forests have already been lost. An environmental catastrophe in its own right, such rampant deforestation also contributes to climate change. Up to 20 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming are caused by global deforestation and other changes in land use. Your gift can help preserve the remaining forests of Madagascar and other threatened areas and help slow the rate of climate change.
Freshwater ecosystems are among the most biologically rich places on Earth. They are also among the most threatened. Today only about one-tenth of one-percent of the Earth's water flows freely. Taking action to save the Earth means protecting the vital freshwater ecosystems on which life depends. Your gift supports CI action to preserve habitats like freshwater ecosystems to protect them from dams and other diversion projects.
Kalabia means "walking shark." It is the name of a newly discovered species in the Raja Ampat archipelago of Indonesia - one of the most biologically and culturally rich archipelagos in the world. It is also the name of a 118-foot-long refurbished fishing boat, now being used by CI to spearhead our marine conservation and education program in the region. Raja Ampat is home to 75% of all known coral species in the world, more than 1,000 fish species, and important nesting beaches for five species of sea turtles. By funding CI projects such as Kalabia you're helping to save species around the globe by preserving critical habitats on land and sea.
Earth action means results. Our decade-long collaboration with the Brazilian Environmental Agency has resulted in numerous conservation success stories, including the establishment of the Corumbau Marine Extractive Reserve. Co-managed by 500 traditional fishing families, this reserve protects 89,000 hectares of coral reefs, island communities and surrounding habitats, and protects the only place in the southern Atlantic where humpback whales go to give birth. Your gift supports CI's work to protect species like coral and humpback whales in the Corumbau Reserve and other critical regions.
There are at least two subspecies of eastern gorilla. The eastern lowland gorilla is, relatively, the most numerous type of gorilla, with approximately 16,000 still living in Uganda and eastern Congo. Its cousin, the mountain gorilla, however, now numbers only about 700 and is considered Critically Endangered. Gorillas live in small, social family groups and prefer to avoid all contact with humans. Both types of gorillas are now at risk due to hunting and deforestation of their habitat. Without rapid conservation action, gorillas could soon become extinct in the wild. Your generous gift of $500 helps support CI's urgent initiatives to save the eastern gorilla and other species from extinction.
The richest and most diverse ecoregions on Earth, the Tropical Andes rainforest contains about one-sixth of all plant life in less than one-percent of the world's land area. This biological "hotspot" also includes fascinating threatened species like the yellow-eared parrot, the yellow-tailed woolly monkey and the spectacled bear, all of which live in the Tropical Andes and nowhere else. 664 distinct species of amphibians also live here, most of them classified as threatened. And no wonder: the region is facing a variety of threats including mining, timber extraction, oil exploration and narcotics plantations. Hydroelectric dams, as well as invasive species of nonnative plants and animals, also put this ecosystem at risk. If the Tropical Andes suffers further destruction, a disproportionate number of plants and animals will be lost along with it. Urgent action is needed, and your gift will help to preserve the Tropical Andes and other rainforests around the world.
Six of the world's seven sea turtle species are highly threatened. The plight of sea turtles provides tragic evidence of the greater devastation of ocean biodiversity over the past century. That's why CI's Sea Turtle Flagship Program offers critical support to the World Conservation Union Species Survival Commission Marine Turtle Specialist Group. With nearly 300 members from more than 80 countries, this is the largest volunteer network of sea turtle specialists in the world, responsible for regularly assessing the global status of each of the seven species. Together with CI, the group develops and supports strategies, sets priorities, and provides tools to promote and guide the conservation of marine turtles and their habitats. Healthy turtle populations depend on healthy oceans, and your generous gift will support both species and habitats worldwide.
Many people think of conservation as the action taken when species become endangered. But CI uses advanced scientific research to study habitats and respond to threats before they become critical. Our teams use satellite and aerial surveys to map and monitor threats as part of an early warning system for deforestation and biodiversity loss. With over 30 years of data we are helping governments and other partners to identify, understand and respond to deforestation. Our efforts to measure deforestation in Sumatra, for example, home to unique species like the Sumatran rhinoceros and the orangutan, has helped to map important sites and drive bold conservation action in the region. Your extraordinary gift will help combat climate change by advancing the leading edge of deforestation research and conservation science.
Rapid Assessment Programs, or "RAP" expeditions, provide critical information for policymakers and other stakeholders in deciding how to achieve important biodiversity goals to benefit local communities and the global ecosystem. In Suriname, for example, our scientists exploring the remote highlands discovered 24 species believed to be new to science, including a small frog with florescent purple markings. Our scientists also found a rare armored catfish, thought to be extinct since gold mining activities had contaminated a creek where it was last seen more than 50 years ago. CI conducts these expeditions around the world to document biodiversity before it disappears and provide the impetus for aggressive habitat protections. RAP is one of the most critical and effective conservation initiatives happening anywhere, and your gift helps make it possible.
