SGLT/AMLD Receives Disney Conservation Grant
Silver Spring, Maryland 29 August 2013. Save the Golden Lion Tamarin has been awarded a US$ 25,000 grant from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF). The conservation grant recognizes the Brazilian NGO Associação Mico-Leão-Dourado’s (AMLD) efforts to conserve endangered golden lion tamarins and a significant portion of their Atlantic Forest habitat.
Jim Dietz, Vice-president of Save the Golden Lion Tamarin, said “this grant will be used to help reconnect two isolated tamarin populations. The success of this project is absolutely critical for long-term conservation of golden lion tamarins”.
Conservation of golden lion tamarins needs 25,000ha of connected and protected Brazilian Atlantic Forest. AMLD identified 33,772ha of connected forest fragments, but one connection is narrow and at risk. AMLD education specialists will design and implement activities to engage the local community in forest protection and restoration. AMLD wildlife managers will recommend areas to reforest and monitor tamarin use of forest fragments and thus the organization’s goal of conserving this species in perpetuity.
The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund works to protect species and habitats, and connect kids to nature to help develop lifelong conservation values. Since its founding in 1995, DWCF has supported more than 1,000 conservation programs in 112 countries. For information on Disney’s commitment to conserve nature visit ww.disney.com/conservation.
Based in Rio de Janeiro state, AMLD (http://www.micoleao.org.br/) was created in 1992 as a Brazilian non-profit organization whose goal is to prevent the extinction of wild golden lion tamarins and to protect and reconnect a significant portion of their remaining Atlantic Forest habitat. AMLD mobilizes local landowners, both large and small, to restore forest on their land and to plant forest corridors to reconnect the landscape. AMLD collaborates with local governments and community organizations to plan regional land use to save forest, tamarins, and water for future generations. They train local teachers to integrate into their school curriculum, projects to protect the local environment and inspire young people. AMLD also scientifically manages the wild population of tamarins to minimize inbreeding and maximize the probability of long-term survival.
In 2005, the U.S.-based conservation professionals involved in golden lion tamarin conservation created Save the Golden Lion Tamarin (SGLT; /), a United States 501 (c) (3) public charity, to help ensure that AMLD will always be able to continue its work to save GLTs in Brazil. SGLT provides AMLD with scientific advice, assistance in strategic planning and evaluation, and helps find long-term financial resources to fill gaps critical to implementation of AMLD’s strategic plan.