The WILD Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in the United States in 1974 by South African Dr. Ian Player, and based inBoulder, Colorado. For 32 years, WILD has worked internationally towards the goals of wilderness, wild land and wildlife protection.
Fundamentally their work is to protect the planets last wild places and the wildlife and people who depend upon them. This work is firmly rooted in the innate belief that wilderness areas provide essential social, spiritual, biological and economic benefitsand that this is a core element of a healthy and modern society.
WILD emphasizes that the “spirit” of wild nature as a vital component of a healthy society. Their Wilderness Leadership Institute (WLI) offers many educational and experiential programs promoting the wilderness concept. WLI also provides wilderness management training, and produces a number of widely respected publications, including the International Journal of Wilderness and Wilderness Management.
WILD has organized World Wilderness Congresses on seven occasions in six different countries since 1977. One of their signature projects, the WWC is now the longest running public environmental forum, and the only international event dedicated solely to wilderness conservation. The next WWC is Wild 9, taking place in Mexico in November 2009.
President of Wild, Vance G. Martin joined the organisation in 1984 after 15 years in international business and non-profit management. Vance also sits on the Board of the Wilderness Foundation UK. Vance says:
“WILD field projects implement practical conservation solutions. Our field projects are historically focused in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa and our global reach is ever increasing – from the Amazon of Brazil to the northern reaches of Russia. We provide training for managers of protected areas, innovate new approaches to conservation needs, incubate new organizations and work with local communities to develop sustainable solutions addressing social needs with a conservation outlook.”
Featured Projects of Wild:
- The Desert Elephants of Mali
- Endangered Olive Ridley Turtles
- Sactwu Edupeg Literacy and Numeracy Project
- The World Wilderness Congress
For further information on Vance, his team or Wild Foundation projects visit their website: www.wild.org
