2.28.2006 ET

(CSRwire) LONDON - Following its annual meeting of Trustees on the 6th of February, the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa (MCFEA) has announced its funding programme for 2006.

Established in the UK in 1992, the MCFEA is primarily an educational charity. Its principle objective is to promote education and research in the fields of environmental protection and conservation, as well as poverty alleviation and social development. The MCFEA has donated over £1,000,000 to these causes since its inception.

The 2006 funding programme includes support of the following organisations:

WaterAid - Since 2003, the MCFEA has supported WaterAid, an organisation dedicated to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world's poorest communities. In 2006, the MCFEA will continue its support of a project in Maputo, Mozambique, with a donation of £50,000 to help provide the infrastructure needed to improve the water supply and public sanitation in some of the city's most undeveloped districts. With this donation, the MCFEA will have donated over £140,000 to WaterAid since 2003.

Earthwatch Institute - The Earthwatch Institute promotes science and education as a means of achieving sustainable development. The MCFEA has, since 1992, sent staff from Mitsubishi Corporation offices as volunteers to assist biologists, research doctors and other specialists on conservation projects worldwide. The MCFEA will continue to support Earthwatch in 2006 with a donation of £31,500.

The Society for Dolphin Conservation, Germany (Gesellschaft zur Rettung der Delphine (GRD)) - In 2003, the MCFEA began its support of GRD's Croatian Dolphin Project. Together with the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Zagreb, GRD has now established a local NGO in Croatia through which their valuable work on the conservation of dolphins in the Adriatic Sea continues. In 2005, the MCFEA made a £20,000 donation to GRD and, in 2006, the MCFEA will continue its support for the organisations' Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Centre, on the island of Ugljan, off the coast of mainland Croatia.

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) - BGCI is a worldwide network of botanic gardens working on plant conservation and is based in Kew Gardens in London. The MCFEA is continuing its support of BGCI's Plant Charter Group in 2006, which it has supported, with total donations of over £60,000, since 1993.

Ingonyama Players - This group of young performers from the Hwange National Park area in Zimbabwe was set up as a direct result of the WildCRU lion project directed by Professor David Macdonald, which the MCFEA supported from 1999 to 2003. In order to encourage wildlife conservation in remote local communities, the Players have performed their conservation-themed shows in front of school children, village audiences and tourist lodges, and have recently performed in Namibia. The MCFEA intends to continue its support at a similar level to last years' £5,000 donation.

ARKive - The MCFEA will provide a one-off £10,000 donation to support ARKive, an initiative of the UK-based charity Wildscreen, whose mission is "to use the power of wildlife images to inspire the people of the world to value and conserve our natural environment and its biodiversity". ARKive brings together, into one central digital library, films, photographs and audio recordings of the world's species. Through these media, ARKive is creating a unique record of the world's biodiversity.

About the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa

The Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa (MCFEA), a UK registered charity, was established in 1992 to promote environmental conservation, education and research into the environment and poverty alleviation. In particular, the MCFEA aims to encourage the appreciation and conservation of flora and fauna with an emphasis on endangered species.

Since its inception, the MCFEA has channelled its donations to a variety of projects: the Web of Life exhibition (now called "BUGS!") housed in the Millennium Conservation Centre at London Zoo (of which the MCFEA was a founding partner); supporting the research of Professor David Macdonald of WildCRU into the big cats of southern Africa; funding staff fellowships at the Earthwatch Institute each year; funding the core activities of Botanic Gardens Conservation International - as well as many other projects.

About Mitsubishi Corporation

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is Japan's largest general trading company (sogo shosha) with over 200 bases of operations in approximately 80 countries worldwide. Together with its over 500 group companies, MC employs a multinational workforce of approximately 48,000 people. MC has long been engaged in business with customers around the world in virtually every industry, including energy, metals, machinery, chemicals, food and general merchandise. MC provides philanthropic spending through a variety of mechanisms, including donations to the MCFEA and the Mitsubishi International Corporation Foundation, based in New York.

For more information visit www.mitsubishicorp.com.