Cheetah Conservation Fund Celebrates First Annual Rewildling Day March 20 with the Global Rewilding Alliance and WILD Foundation

OTJIWARONGO, Namibia (18 March 2020) — On Saturday, the 20th of March, Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and conservationists around the world will raise awareness for rewilding, one of the most powerful and widely available methods for stabilising the climate crisis. CCF is at the forefront of the rewilding movement in Namibia, and CCF is also one of the organisations leading the inaugural celebration of World Rewilding Day, together with the Global Rewilding Alliance and WILD Foundation.

Rewilding is the simple action of helping nature heal itself. Practitioners like CCF engage in a multitude of activities including reintroducing native species, protecting watersheds, and restoring wildlands to their natural state. In Namibia, CCF has tagged and released more than 650 cheetahs back into the wild and radio-tracked nearly 100 cheetahs during a long-term study, providing the data to inspire range-wide management plans. CCF has also rehabilitated more than 50 orphaned cheetahs back into the wild. A peer-reviewed research paper detailing CCF’s methods will soon be published in Oryx – The International Journal of Conservation.

CCF’s Bush Project and its sustainable harvest of overgrown thorn bush restores grasslands for livestock and allows for more space for predators and their prey. It also helps stave off desertification, which is a critical concern for Namibia, with its arid climate and millions of hectares of encroached lands.

“Nature is wounded, and rewilding is the most effective action we can take to help nature heal. Rewilding helps keep climate change under control by removing carbon from the atmosphere, making the planet a healthier place to live”, said Dr Laurie Marker, Founder and Executive Director of CCF. “Human health is inextricably linked to the wild, and healthy ecosystems have greater biodiversity. This is the reason why we must learn to live with cheetahs and other wildlife, it is really for the good of us all”.

World Rewilding Day was born out of the planning that took place for the 11th World Wilderness Congress and the Global Rewilding Charter. A growing body of research shows that by restoring wildlands, at least 37% of global carbon capture targets can be quickly and effectively achieved and the catastrophic effects of runaway climate change can be avoided. Recognizing the vast potential in simple actions that allow nature to heal itself, scientists and conservation leaders are supporting the concept of rewilding to combat climate change.

The first-annual World Rewilding Day falls on March 20, 2021, the same year the United Nations launches the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Taking a cue, the theme for CCF’s virtual Spring Tour of the United States with Dr Marker is Let’s Keep the Wild, Wild.

CCF encourages everyone to participate in World Rewilding Day. Please join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #ReadyToRewild.

Please watch this special edition of Cheetah TV on CCF’s work returning cheetahs to the landscape, Cheetah TV #8 Cheetah Rescue, Rehab and Release in Namibia.

For find more information, please visit www.cheetah.org.

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Cheetah Conservation Fund

Cheetah Conservation Fund is the global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs and dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. Founded in 1990, CCF is an international non-profit organisation headquartered in Namibia. CCF marked its 30th anniversary in 2020, making it the longest running and most successful conservation programme for cheetahs. For more information, please visit www.cheetah.org.

The Global Rewilding Alliance

The Global Rewilding Alliance was formed in 2020 and is currently a growing network of more than 115 practitioner and messenger organizations. The Global Rewilding Alliance seeks to strengthen the importance of indigenous communities as stewards of their traditional homelands and as key partners in our efforts. Together, we work in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, North America and globally to rewild more than 100 million hectares of land and sea in more than 70 countries. For more information, please email info@rewildingglobal.org.

WILD Foundation

With nearly 50 years of global experience mobilizing international coalitions for the protection of wilderness, WILD’s network extends to more 40 countries today. WILD combines on-the-ground projects with subtle activism and policy interventions to achieve lasting protections for Earth’s wildlife and wild places. WILD believes that to counter the root cause of the destruction of Earth’s life-giving biodiversity, we must address the values and policies that determine acceptable human behavior. WILD Foundation serves as the Secretariat for the Global Rewilding Alliance.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Cheetah Conservation Fund: Susan Yannetti, susan@cheetah.org or +12027167756

The Global Rewilding Alliance/WILD Foundation: Amy Lewis, amy@wild.org or 303-249-5989