Johannesburg - After raising US$1.75 million for non-profit African Parks in the previous two print sales, Prints for Wildlife is back with an even larger mission: to protect and manage ‒ 30 parks by 2030.
More than 100 photographers joined forces to sell limited numbers of wildlife photo prints for just one month on www.printsforwildlife.org for the benefit and conservation of non-profit African Parks.
With nearly 50% of Africa’s landmass suffering degradation and the rapidly increasing affects biodiversity loss has on the climate crisis, Prints for Wildlife is setting out to help African Parks safeguard 30 million hectares of Africa’s protected areas, contributing to the global target of protecting 30% of nature on Earth by 2030.
With the simple purchase of a fine art print, everyone can help support this vital work. Created by photographers Marion Payr and Pie Aerts, Prints for Wildlife launched for the first time in July 2020, as the devastating impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic started to be seen across Africa’s communities and wildlife areas.
Prints for Wildlife’s 2020 and 2021 campaign sold more than 15 000 unique wildlife prints. To support the organisation’s vision of securing more protected areas in Africa, a third edition of the successful print sale was launched on August 28 and will run for a limited period of just one month, closing on September 25.
This year’s fundraiser will feature more than 100 photos from acclaimed wildlife photographers Will Burrard Lucas, Beverly Joubert, Drew Doggett, Marsel van Oosten, Ami Vitale, Joachim Schmeisser, Karim Illya and Gaël Ruboneka Vande Weghe.
Each of the photographers will donate one fine art print each to the fundraiser, which will be sold for US$100 through the online shop Prints for Wildlife. All the proceeds after printing and handling are directly donated to African Parks to support their conservation efforts well into the future.
Prints for WildlifeCo-founder Marion Payr said buying limited edition art prints with one united goal would help grow safe spaces where people and wildlife could flourish.
“The incredible success of Prints for Wildlife came as a much-needed reminder that even in times of crisis, humanity can come together to spread hope and do good for our planet. Wildlife conservation, protecting valuable biomes and supporting communities has now found a place in the hearts and, with the stunning art of all the generous photographers, on the walls of thousands of homes across the globe. Now it’s time to support African Parks in their mission to grow to managing 30 parks by 2030,” she said.
“The key to conservation is putting people at the heart of the solution. This is done through community programmes supporting health, education, job security, and sustainable livelihoods. African Parks, and their community-first approach to conservation, is ensuring that the protected areas under their management are safe places where wildlife and people can flourish.
In safe places, magical things can happen. Therefore, choosing African Parks as our partner for this campaign was a no-brainer,” said fellow co-founder, Pie Aerts.
African Parks chief marketing officer Carli Flemmer said they felt honoured to be entering into another Prints for Wildlife sale, engaging with world-renowned talent to help enhance the work they do at African Parks.
“As part of our mission to manage 30 parks by 2030, we recently signed a long-term agreement with the government of Zambia for Kafue National Park, increasing our management portfolio to 20 parks in 11 countries across Africa. We continue to work hard to enter into long-term management agreements in partnership with governments for Luengue-Luiana and Mavinga National Parks in Angola and Boma and Bandingilo National Parks in South Sudan. The 2022 Prints for Wildlife campaign is a step towards helping us achieve this goal,” she said.
The goal of this year’s fundraiser is to support the growth of African Parks and the addition of new parks to their portfolio. African Parks currently manages 20 parks in 11 countries across Africa, including Kafue (Zambia), Akagera (Rwanda) and Liwonde (Malawi) National Parks, in partnership with governments for the benefit of local communities and wildlife ‒ the largest and most ecologically diverse portfolio of protected areas in Africa under management by any one conservation organisation.
“African Parks is looking to sign a number of new parks within the coming months and years, including Luengue-Luiana and Mavinga National Parks in Angola and Boma and Bandingilo National Parks in South Sudan, making sure that more exceptional ecosystems, endemic species, and natural habitats are being protected, while sustainably and holistically benefiting communities and wildlife.”
To learn more about Prints for Wildlife, follow the fundraiser on Instagram (@printsforwildlife), and sign up for the newsletter on www.printsforwildlife.org