Breaking! UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Launches New Multimillion Dollar Funds To Save Last 400 Sumatran Tigers On Earth & Protect Our Rainforests

A new £220 million fund to save endangered species such as: the black rhino, African elephant, snow leopard and Sumatran tiger from extinction was unveiled yesterday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York the Prime Minister called for urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity as part of global efforts to tackle the drivers and impact of climate change.

The Prime Minister warned that precious habitats and species are disappearing from our planet faster than at any other time in human history. The world’s animal populations have declined by almost two thirds in the last 50 years, and around a million species now face extinction, many within decades.

In the past century, the number of orangutans has halved and there are now only 400 Sumatran tigers left on the planet. Over a million pangolins were killed and illegally traded for their scales in the past 15 years, while rhino poaching in South Africa increased 9000% in the seven years leading up to 2014, and African Savannah elephants declined by a third in that period – with most slaughtered for their ivory.

“The global population of animals is plummeting faster than at any time in human history. There are now more peers in the House of Lords than there are Sumatran tigers left in the world. And we risk there being no tigers left at all when the next Year of the Tiger comes around in 2022,” the Prime Minister said in a statement. “It is a privilege to share our planet with such majestic beasts as the African elephant, the black rhino and the beautiful pangolin. We cannot just sit back and watch as priceless endangered species are wiped off the face of the earth by our own carelessness and criminality.”

The UK’s new International Biodiversity Fund will protect these animals and more by backing projects aimed at halting the unprecedented loss of habitats and species and saving those most at risk. The £220 million announced is the first investment in the Fund, with more funding to be unveiled, and builds on the UK’s world-leading reputation on this agenda.

The illegal wildlife trade threatens species with extinction, destroys vital ecosystems and fuels corruption and insecurity. The new fund will step up UK investment in projects to strengthen law enforcement, reduce the demand for illegally-traded products, train anti-poaching rangers and help communities find alternative ways to make a living that prevents people taking up poaching and conserves wildlife.

The Prime Minister has also been clear that biodiversity and climate change are two sides of the same coin and must be addressed in tandem in order to protect the planet for future generations. At the UN today, he will call for greater global action to address these twin threats.

Johnson has also pledged that the UK will use the COP26 summit to address solutions to climate change that can be found in nature, such as reforestation.

Rainforests absorb billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But the world is losing its forests at a rate of 18.7 million acres a year, or 27 football pitches every minute. This destruction creates emissions that contribute to and accelerate the rate of climate change.

The Prime Minister will also announce almost £40 million to protect and preserve the world’s forests and other natural habitats and support global efforts to tackle climate change.

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