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Primary Activities
By the end of 2013, SOS was funding 48 Threatened Species
Grants and an additional two Rapid Action Grants. It had also
begun work to reach the broader global community of those
who love nature through the power of social media, events and
storytelling. These 48 projects are implemented by 38 grantees
including local NGOs, regional and international operators too.
In total, SOS had either allocated or disbursed almost $6 million
in small and medium sized grants between its inception in 2010
and the end of 2013, supporting projects that help protect
mammals, amphibians, birds, plants, fish and reptiles in 50
countries, including the marine and freshwater environments.
SOS’ primary activity is funding either new or established
conservation projects that fulfill our selection criteria, are
shortlisted following evaluation by members of the Species
Survival Commission (SSC) and representatives of donors, and
are finally approved by the SOS Donor Council. This primary
activity is done through the Threatened Species Grant (TSG)
programme which funds projects for one to two years in
keeping with strategic directions publicised through an annual
Call for Proposals. The Council met in May 2013 to review and
approve shortlisted grant candidates from the Second Call for
Proposals announced by SOS in late 2012. The directions in
these Calls are informed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species which explains why, in our communications, SOS is
presented as the actionable answer to the challenges and
issues identified by The IUCN Red List.
The Second Call for Proposals allowed SOS to extend funding
in 2013 into four new strategic directions for its TSG
programme; threatened tropical terrestrial Asian vertebrates,
threatened small marine mammals, threatened cycads and
threatened freshwater African animals.
The Third Call for Proposals which closed in August 2013 was,
as expected, over-subscribed. Again it extended the range and
reach of SOS funding to eligible projects under the strategic
directions of; threatened cycads and conifers, threatened
sharks and rays and threatened central and western African
vertebrates. These new projects will begin in 2014.
Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus).
© M.J. McGill-WWT
>>Emergency Conservation Action
In 2013, SOS also funded two Rapid Action Grants (RAGs),
which are designed to fund shorter term, more immediate
conservation work. The first of these supported the LEO
Foundation by training and equipping ecoguards in
Cameroon’s Bouba-Ndjida National Park, tackling the
increased threat of poaching to lions and elephants. Bouba-
Ndjida was the site where, between January and March 2012,
poachers killed around 450 elephants – one of the largest
single slaughters of elephants on record in Africa in recent
times. This event was a chilling reminder of the challenge
facing the men and women who work on the frontlines to
protect our wild heritage; fortunately SOS was in a position to
support LEO Foundation’s ongoing work in the area.
Also tackling wildlife crime, the second RAG funded the
training and support of rangers, protecting Siamese Rosewood
from poaching in Than Lap National Park in Thailand. By
investing in the park’s rangers and by developing park-based
monitoring as well as reporting mechanisms, the project will
rapidly improve the effectiveness and safety of patrolling as
well as increasing their frequency.
>>Conservation Successes
2013 was another year of conservation successes for SOS.
A selection of notable highlights begins with a project funding
grantee Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust which involved a daring
and innovative headstarting programme that reaped rewards
for the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Project
staff managed to hatch 20 eggs in Russia’s far eastern
Chukotka region; a fantastic achievement which is essential to
the future stability of the species.
In Baja California’s Sierra San Pedro Martír, grantee San Diego
Zoo Global reported identifying its third California condor chick
102 IUCN species Annual Report 2013