Driven By Urgent Climate Emergency, Global Conservation Expands Footprint to Five Continents

Global Conservation, the only international non-profit organization focused on direct protection of endangered national parks and Indigenous reserves in developing countries, is pleased to announce its recent expansion, bringing the total number of park protection projects to 25 projects on five continents. 

At the upcoming COP28 calling for ‘30x30’ Protection of Forests and Marine Ecosystems and recent scientific reports on the climate emergency, saying the earth is entering “uncharted territory” and its capacity to support human life under siege, Global Conservation is taking direct action to protect the largest and most endangered national parks in developing countries.

“We’re facing a Climate Emergency and existing financial support is less than one percent of what is necessary,” said Jeff Morgan, founder and executive director of Global Conservation. “If we can’t protect our existing national parks, how can we have any hope of achieving ‘30x30’? We have expanded our footprint throughout the world because protecting national parks is the most cost-effective solution for stopping deforestation and preserving biodiversity. Forest loss is responsible for nearly 12 percent of the Climate Emergency. On the eve of the COP28, Global Conservation is leading the way in providing a scalable solution to help fight back.”

Global Conservation is a disruptor by delivering a proven, replicable model for park and wildlife protection – Global Park Defense. Unlike government-to-government funding, often compromised by corruption and mismanagement, and large, international NGOs that are rapidly moving away from park and wildlife protection, Global Conservation’s Global Park Defense program directly funds national park protection through a cost-effective and scalable program of systems, equipment, and training implemented over five years. 

Global Park Defense combines the use of modern technologies, including satellite imagery and drones, real-time trail cameras, marine radars, EarthRanger, and SMART patrolling systems, with Community Protection to prevent illegal logging, poaching, and encroachment in national parks. By providing local communities with the tools and training needed to protect their parks, Global Conservation's model promotes sustainable development and supports the livelihoods of those living in and around these endangered national parks and Indigenous territories. 

The organization has established a $100 million Global Parks Fund focused on protecting endangered national parks in developing countries. Global Conservation’s Global Parks Fund will leverage other co-funders and sidecar funding up to $1 billion in the next 20 years. This financing will directly fund protection of over 100 million acres of endangered national parks, critical for achieving the UN ‘30x30’ Climate and Biodiversity Goals adopted by 260 countries in Montreal in early 2023 with the aim of conserving 30 percent of the Earth’s land and marine habitat by 2030.

“The UN-sanctioned 30x30 goal requires effective protection of 30 percent of our planet by 2030,” said Michael Sutton, Global Conservation Board Chair and executive director of the Goldman Environmental Foundation. “But we’re far off track to achieve that goal. Insufficient funding, growing external threats, unmanaged government corruption, and ineffective organizations are pushing national parks to the brink. It’s essential to ensure that critical funds for essential national park protection are not diverted to low-risk marketing, advocacy, livelihood, and policy work.”