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Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas Dedicates Nearly $1 Million for Environmental Causes

Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas Dedicates Nearly $1 Million for Environmental Causes

Published 12-04-13

Submitted by Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas

At its annual meeting held on November 26, 2013, the Board of Directors of the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas (MCFA) approved an aggregate of nearly $1 million in the form of new grants, continuing grants and a program-related investment.

The new grants include major funding for two projects in Canada: one involving freshwater biodiversity assessments across Canada by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and NatureServe; and the other, a wolf conservation research project initiated on behalf of the Wolf Lake First Nation, on Algonquin territory in Quebec and Ontario. The IUCN grant will expand and update information about some of Canada’s most imperiled species and habitats, and integrate this knowledge into the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), NatureServe Explorer and NatureServe Surveyor, which provide accurate and up-to-date biodiversity information to support better decision-making concerning land and water use in Canada and around the world. The wolf study will be conducted with the assistance of conservation ecologist, Dr. Jay R. Malcolm of the University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry, combining both Western science and indigenous knowledge to protect and conserve wolf and prey habitats within the traditional territory of the Wolf Lake First Nation, for whom wolves hold symbolic cultural value.

Other new grants include: a 3-year grant to Conservation International’s Conservation Stewards Program to engage communities in the protection of freshwater ecosystems in the Colombian Amazon; a 2-year grant to the Rainforest Alliance to develop sustainable tourism capacity among small and medium sized enterprises in Oaxaca, Mexico; funding for the Wildlife Conservation Society to promote Amazon river turtle conservation in the Yasuni National Park, and to support the conservation of coastal and marine wildlife of the Patagonian Sea; support for the Yosemite Leadership Program at UC Merced; seed funding to CurrentCast, a project of the Center for Transformative Action, based in Ithaca, New York, to develop and disseminate environmental education programming for public radio stations on the importance of water as a vital natural resource; and for a public relations campaign by the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association to improve the conservation of Yukon River Chinook salmon. The continuing grants support a variety of other environmental and sustainable development projects throughout the Americas.

In addition to approving new grants, the board authorized a program-related investment in the form of the renewal of a $300K interest-free loan to Root Capital for its financing activities in Latin America.

Editor's Note: A PDF version of this release is available for download here.

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 dedicated nearly $8 million to environmental causes throughout the Americas. For more information, please visit 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.

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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.

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