The World Bank recently issued the world’s first wildlife conservation bond, raising $150 million, some of which will be partly used for the conservation of the endangered black rhino population in South Africa.
The five-year ‘rhino bond’ will pay investors returns based on the rate of growth of the black rhino population at the Addo Elephant National Park as well as the Great Fish River Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape. If successful, it may be replicated to protect rhino populations at three Kenyan reserves as well as other wildlife species such as lions, tigers and gorillas.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), South Africa accounts for about half of the black rhino population on the continent. Numbers had dropped to approximately 2500 in the 1990s but large scale conservation projects over the past few years have helped the Rhino numbers increase to approximately 5500.
“The pay-for-success financial structure protects an endangered species and strengthens South Africa’s conservation efforts by leveraging the World Bank’s infrastructure and track record in capital markets,” World Bank Group President David Malpass.
Pic source: www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-rhino
Find out more at: https://bit.ly/3xJlZ49
Follow South Africans UK on Facebook and Instagram.
Join the South African UK map and subscribe to our newsletter.
