A partnership between World Wildlife Fund and Sky has ended after raising over £9m since 2009, with the charity saying it has safeguarded a billion trees in the Amazon in the process.
In a statement released today, the WWF said that its six year partnership with Sky has come to an end having raised over £9m to maintain a swathe of rainforest in the Amazon jungle the “size of Belgium”.
According to the WWF, over £5m was raised through donations by Sky customers with Sky themselves “match-funding” up to £4m.
In order to help raise funds and generate public interest, Sky has broadcasted a number of Amazon themed programmes since 2009 and has seen more than a million people visit interactive rainforest installations across the country.
According to the WWF, the partnership also allowed the organisation to work directly with over 1,500 farming families in Acre, a north western state of Brazil in order to “give them ways of keeping their keeping their soil fertile as an alternative to exhausting the land and cutting down more trees for crops”.
David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK said: “Keeping the rainforest standing should matter to all of us, wherever we live. Globally, deforestation and forest degradation cause up to a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions and are robbing future generations of rich, beautiful natural resources.
“By joining WWF’s conservation expertise with Sky’s vision and with the commitment of the Acre state government, we have found ways to help keep deforestation at bay in this fragile part of the Amazon.”
Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of the Sky Group, said “We are incredibly proud of what our partnership with WWF has achieved. Together we have raised over £9m and helped save one billion trees in the state of Acre.
“Through the partnership we’ve also inspired and engaged people on the issues of deforestation and have given 7.3 million people an increased understanding of climate change.”
A spokeswoman for the WWF said that: “Sky Rainforest Rescue was initially envisioned as a three year campaign from 2009-12 aiming to raise £2m from the public, which Sky would match.
"After a very successful first phase, the campaign was extended for a further three years (2012-15) with the aim of raising another £2m from the public with the same matching from Sky.
“Once this was achieved in August 2014 the matching stopped, but the public have continued their incredible support for the campaign and an additional £1m has been donated.”
