3.05.2007 - 01:00pm ET

(CSRwire) LONDON (5 March 2007) – At its annual meeting of Trustees on the 13th of February, the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa (MCFEA) approved grants worth over £150,000 to environmental and development charities for 2007.

The 2007 funding programme includes a £50,000 grant to WaterAid, for water provision and sanitation education in Mozambique; a £31,500 grant to Earthwatch Institute (Europe), an international charity that engages people in scientific field research; a £25,000 grant to Fauna and Flora International, to promote environmental capacity building in national parks and protected areas in Romania; a £20,000 grant to the Zoological Society of London, to develop a climate change exhibit at London Zoo; a £15,000 grant to Botanic Gardens Conservation International, including support for the participation of five African scientists in the 3rd Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Wuhan, China; and a £5,000 grant to the Ingonyama Players, a grass-roots theatre group promoting conservation messages in Zimbabwe.

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 £1,250,000 to these causes since its inception.

The 2007 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 2007, 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. This donation represents the last payment of a five-year donation to WaterAid of over £190,000 since 2003.

Earthwatch Institute (Europe) – 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 in Europe as volunteers to assist biologists, research doctors and other specialists on conservation projects worldwide. The MCFEA will continue to support Earthwatch in 2007 with a donation of £31,500. This grant brings the MCFEA’s total donations to Earthwatch since 1993 to over £320,000.

Fauna and Flora International - Fauna and Flora International (FFI) is the world's longest established international conservation body, headquartered in Cambridge in the UK. In 2007, the MCFEA will support FFI's project to improve capacity for “protected area” management in Romania. FFI will deliver training in conservation policy and practice to conservation professionals, students and others engaged in conservation and sustainable development in Romania, aiming to leave a lasting legacy for conservation and community engagement in the country.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) – In 2007 the MCFEA will support ZSL, a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats and which operates London Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park. The MCFEA will provide ZSL with a grant to build a climate change exhibit in the "BUGS!" building at London Zoo, which the MCFEA helped establish in 1999. This interactive climate change feature will provide visitors with an introduction to the climate change phenomenon and how its consequences are threatening terrestrial and aquatic habitats and species around the world. This grant brings the MCFEA’s total donations to ZSL since 1993 to just under £200,000.

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 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 2007, 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 2007, which it has supported since 1993, and will also sponsor five African scientists to attend the BGCI’s 3rd Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Wuhan, China. This year’s grant of £15,000 brings the MCFEA’s total donations to BGCI since 1993 to over £115,000.

Ingonyama Players – This group of young performers from the Hwange National Park area in Zimbabwe was set up as a direct result of a lion project directed by Professor David Macdonald of WildCRU, 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. In 2007, the MCFEA will make a £5,000 donation to the Ingonyama Players, the final payment in a three-year commitment worth £15,000.

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, through funding from Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, and its U.K.-based subsidiary, Mitsubishi Corporation (UK) Plc.

The MCFEA’s sister charity, the Mitsubishi International Corporation Foundation (MICF), based in New York City, was established in 1992 with funding from Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, and its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mitsubishi International Corporation. With a current endowment of nearly US$6 million, the Foundation has dedicated more than US$3 million to charitable causes throughout the Americas.

For more information about the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa, please visit www.mcfea.org, and for more information about the Mitsubishi International Corporation Foundation, please visit www.micfoundation.org.

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 54,000 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 MICF.

For more information, please visit www.mitsubishicorp.com.

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