Remarkable People

Twenty years ago Africa was in the midst of a poaching crisis. Black rhino were on the brink of extinction (just 2,000 remained) and the African elephant population was being slaughtered at a rate of 100,000 each year, just for their ivory. Drastic times required urgent action.

Tusk was established in response to an urgent need to halt the decline in Africa’s natural heritage and find a way to combine the interests of people and wildlife alike.

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 
Since its formation in 1990 Tusk has raised over £12 million for a wide range of projects across Africa which not only work to protect wildlife, particularly endangered species, but also help to alleviate poverty, through sustainable development and education amongst rural communities who live alongside wildlife.

Tusk currently provides financial, logistical and practical support for a large portfolio of field projects spread across 17 African countries. This support includes the purchase of vehicles, aircraft, radio equipment, as well as the construction of primary and secondary schools, clinics, water improvement schemes, roads, buildings, bridges and airstrips, in addition to helping to cover the direct costs of game scouts and wildlife management.

The charity views conservation as a long term investment, relying upon a partnership with key individuals and organisations that have a proven track record in conservation. It is an approach, which has allowed Tusk to fully maximize its investment into the field whilst minimizing its core operational and administrative costs. Since its formation, for every £1 donated, Tusk has been able, on average, to commit 85p towards the projects in the field.

PROTECTING WILDLIFE
Through the support of Tusk and its partner organisations across Africa greater protection has been afforded to some 36 endangered species over a combined land mass equivalent to 10 times the size of Belgium. Some of the threatened species that have benefited include the African elephant, black and white rhino, cheetah, chimpanzee, mountain and lowland gorilla, African wild dog, Grevy’s zebra, giant sable and hawksbill turtle.

In keeping with Tusk’s overall philosophy these projects are often not solely focused on wildlife, instead they take an integrated approach to conservation working hand in hand with local communities and combining the protection of wildlife with the management and sustainable use of natural resources.

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES
Tusk’s approach to conservation recognises that the long term future for wildlife and Africa’s other natural resources is dependant on sustainable rural development. In conjunction with its partners in the field, Tusk has been at the forefront of establishing and promoting community-led initiatives which link the implementation of greater security, infrastructure, healthcare and employment through responsible tourism and other nature-based enterprises with conservation. One such programme supported by Tusk has already seen over two million acres of community land come under a common conservation policy with an initiative which is mutually benefiting 75,000 people of diverse ethnicity and affording greater protection for a significant wildlife population.

The aim is to reduce human wildlife conflict and to allow people to view their natural heritage as a real asset. Projects supported by the charity directly employ 1,370 people and benefit over half a million others.

PROMOTING EDUCATION
Tusk believes that if conservation is to succeed and environmental degradation to be reversed then education needs to be promoted at this early age.

Tusk’s Pan African Conservation Education (PACE)Project has been designed to help address this need by communicating ideas on environmental issues, whether in the form of practical advice or demonstrating proven solutions between communities across Africa. The highly acclaimed set of teaching materials and films has been designed to act as both an environmental education tool and a stimulus to adopt sound and sustainable policies. To date over 150,000 children and students across the continent have been exposed to Tusk’s PACE programme. 

About Us

The International Red Cross is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organs. The movement's parts are:

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
• National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 186 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.