As the world's largest river basin with the richest freshwater fish life, Amazonian fisheries provide a critical and renewable resource for rural and urban communities across more than 5,000 km. (© Michael Goulding / WCS)

The Board of Directors of the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas (MCFA) have approved a $1 Million grant over the next 5 years to the Wildlife Conservation Society for its Amazon Waters Initiative, a major participatory watershed and natural resource management initiative in Amazonas State, Brazil, and Loreto Department, Peru. Amazon Waters aims to protect fisheries, wildlife, and habitats in two major Amazonian watersheds with the active participation of indigenous and other local Amazonian communities, governmental agencies, and civil society organizations, in the management of these critical resources.  The project will also inform and promote adaptation to impacts from development and climate change through the dissemination of scientific information to decision-makers. 

MCFA’s Board also approved new grants to: University of California, Merced to train undergraduate student “Naturalists” to deliver education programs in low-income communities; EcoAgriculture Partners for integrated landscape management  (ILM) interventions in Brazil; National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) for its online Greening STEM Learning Center; and  International Funders for Indigenous Peoples as general support for its mission of increasing philanthropic investments in indigenous communities worldwide.

Through its new and continuing grants, MCFA supports a variety of conservation, environmental education, and sustainable development projects throughout the Americas.  

The Board of Directors also reaffirmed MCFA’s support for mission-relating investing by renewing, for the fifth consecutive year, a $300K program-related investment in Root Capital, a nonprofit social investment fund that provides vital funding to help grow agricultural businesses in South and Central America.

### 

The Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas, based in New York City, was established 1991 with funding from Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, and its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mitsubishi International Corporation.  Since its establishment, the Foundation has contributed nearly $9 million to environmental causes throughout the Americas.  For more information, please visit http://www.mcfamericas.org.

Contributions for Europe and Africa are made by the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa, a UK registered charity, 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 International (Europe) Plc. For more information, please visit www.mitsubishicorp.com/gb/en/csr/mcfea.html.

Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas

Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas

The Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas, based in New York City was established 1991 with funding from Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, and its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mitsubishi International Corporation. Since its establishment, the Foundation has contributed over $12 million to environmental causes throughout the Americas. We have funded over 100 projects in more than 15 countries, focusing on four themes: biodiversity conservation, environmental education, environmental justice, and sustainable development.

More from Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas