On Wednesday afternoon I was chairing a meeting of the World Land Trust’s trustees. This was, of course, over the internet with all of its disadvantages and advantages. It’s the third such meeting I’ve chaired and we are all getting used to it. One of our number was dialling in from the Uists but the rest of us appeared to have a background of the conventional bookcase or the part of the house now reserved for working at home and videoconferencing. This has become the new normal and it seems unlikely that we will meet in person at our December meeting, or next March and who knows what the world will be like next June?
I took over the hot seat as Chair of Trustees after our December 2019 meeting – close to the end of a very successful year for WLT with record amounts of money being sent to our partners across the world to save great places for nature from destruction. And 2020 started in similar vein and then coronavirus changed all that. Although, we are still saving great places for nature across the world – see here.
WLT has weathered the last six months pretty well and that is due to the firm foundations set over previous decades by WLT’s founder, John Burton, and lots of other staff with the help of lots of previous trustees, and the wise moves and good planning put in place by the current staff team led by the relatively new Chief Executive, Jonathan Barnard with a little bit of help by the current trustees, many of whom are expert in their fields.
Like other NGOs, WLT isn’t exactly in the position which it would have chosen (income reduced by about a third, the office closed and staff working at home, our partners’ conservation work disrupted by the impacts of COVID-19) but we’re still alive and very much kicking thanks to the generosity of supporters. And we have plans, firm plans since Wednesday’s meeting, for expansion of our conservation work, not just from this year’s reduced base but on last year’s record year.
I spend a lot of my time working, in both cases volunteering, for Wild Justice and World Land Trust. Both organisations are relatively small but WLT is huge (20+ staff, income this year of probably £4m) in comparison with Wild Justice (no staff, income this year unlikely to reach £100k). These two roles, and indeed writing this blog, are my main ways of putting the experience gained in my paid working life into continuing use for the conservation cause. And they are great fun too.
These are uncertain times, and everyone in their private lives and work lives is wondering what the next months will bring, but I think there is a real chance that the unwelcome influence of coronavirus on WLT will end up being positive in that a shock to the system allows a bit of reflection and evaluation and is an impetus for change. There is a lot to be done but I think that over the next few years the World Land Trust will increase its conservation impact, already very significant, greatly. If you can help us with a monthly donation then that would be great. Have a look at the WLT website to see the work we do and if you can support it, then thank you very much.
Great organisation Mark, have sent £100 for the latest appeal for the lowland gorillas and chimps in Cameroon.
Alan – thank you!
Not that one would wish the current crisis on anyone, but constraints are often a powerful catalyst for fresh thinking and positive change. Organisations that have life too easy can slide into complacency and struggle to see beyond incremental improvements.