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ALERT Communities Trust (ACT) and Conservation Centre for Wild Africa (CCWA)
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Our Partners In most cases the challenges facing Africa’s wildlife and its people are too great and too complex, and they require too many resources, for any one organization to address. We believe that these challenges can best be met by uniting community and conservation leaders with policy makers, researchers and business leaders in order to make the best decisions for Africa’s people, its environment and its wildlife. By acting collectively the stakeholders of Africa can combine expertise, knowledge and funding to generate real, innovative, long-lasting, cost efficient and responsible solutions. As such, ALERT seeks to develop cooperative partnerships to: reflect the strength of unions forged between Africa’s diverse stakeholders; to provide a forum to generate innovative conservation solutions in tandem with responsible development programs, to leverage funding and develop a culture of sharing of expertise between partners to meet the most pressing conservation and development needs across the continent. Our operational partners include a variety of government agencies and wildlife authorities, NGO’s, conservation organizations and community groups. Through these partnerships we can ensure the most effective use of limited resources, draw from a diversity of expertise and generate joint programs that benefit all the partners in achieving their individual objectives and our combined aims. Our funding partners come from all walks of life to provide finance and resources to our various projects. Our commercial partners are vital to the ongoing financial sustainability of our projects. By building commercial enterprises around our conservation and community programs, and having them operated by commercial organizations with the experience and resources to maximize revenues from those enterprises, we are able to ensure that each program is given the chance to become financially self-sustaining after implementation and thus reduce their reliance on limited donor funding to maintain them. ALERT retains an oversight role to ensure that projects are operated by the commercial partner within agreed ethical standards. ALERT is the major element of African Encounter’s corporate responsibility program, and as such the two organizations operate in close partnership. Founded by Andrew Conolly, African Encounter developed the African Lion Rehabilitation & Release into the Wild Program and operates the projects either in its own right, as at Antelope Park, or in partnership with additional investors, as at Lion Encounter Zimbabwe and Lion Encounter Zambia. A significant amount of the surplus made after operational expenses from projects that African Encounter partners with ALERT is donated to the Trust. African Encounter, through its various divisions, including African Impact that markets voluntourism opportunities, also undertakes a variety of other conservation and community development programs in line with the shared values of ALERT and African Encounter. Because the implementation costs of projects can be high ALERT also seeks donor funding for the African Lion Rehabilitation & Release into the Wild Program but retains commercial rights on any elements it funds through such means. Donor funding is also sought by ALERT for projects reflecting its broader role in conservation of the African Lion; an holistic program encompassing the wider ecosystem and community involvement, and will seek opportunities to provide long term financial security for those projects through commercial operations and partners. ALERT is the founder member of the newly created African Conservation Council which aims to broaden the role of partnerships to address Africa’s greatest challenge; achieving social and economic development in a way that is compatible with life support systems, eco-systems and natural services. Ambassadors ALERT would also like to thank the following people who are ambassadors for ALERT in their field of influence, giving freely of their time and energy to support the work that we do: Louise Fiennes Our partners include: Africa Centre for Holistic Management ALERT would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their support of our programs through financial, material or logistical support: Activity International Finally, ALERT extends our gratitude to the following media outlets that have assisted in raising awareness of our programs and the importance of lion conservation: Anglia TV for the ITV Network
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