WFEN Welcomes DotAsia as a Founding NGO Network Member
DotAsia Becomes First Global Internet Company to Join the Wildlife Friendly® Enterprise Network Supporting Tiger Conservation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HONG KONG– 20 JAN 2016 – DotAsia Organisation, who operates the global “.Asia” Top-Level Domain (TLD) as a not-for-profit organization with a mandate to promote internet development and adoption in Asia, and the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN), a global community dedicated to protecting wildlife in wild places and on private agricultural lands in between, are pleased to announce an exciting new collaboration to raise awareness about the important role of internet companies in the poaching crisis and the trade in illegal wildlife parts online. Using Tigers as the flagship species, this effort will assist companies to take positive, productive, practical and achievable steps to address this crisis which could lead to tragic consequences for highly endangered species like Tigers. This effort will also promote legal and certified Tiger Friendly™ products and services that will empower global companies and their consumers to create change on-the-ground and support Tiger conservation and improved livelihoods for rural communities who often turn to illegal activities like poaching to feed their families in Asia.
“Building on the appointment of Ajitora, our PR character for ‘.Asia’, as a Tx2 Ambassador, we are excited to see Aji already hard at work in pulling together this strategic collaboration with WFEN” said Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia. “The Tx2 goal is to #doubletigers in the wild by 2022, and is supported by organizations including GTF, WWF and TRAFFIC. Promoting Tiger Friendly™ products, services and corporate practices broadens the reach of Tx2 in Asia. Internet and IT companies are not usually thought to be directly impacting wildlife environment, but unknowingly, illegal wildlife trade is proliferating online, while poachers abusively mine social media data for criminal activities. The work with WFEN will pioneer Wildlife Friendly® guidelines and principals for Internet related businesses.”
“This groundbreaking new Tiger Friendly™ collaboration with DotAsia Organisation and other internet technology companies is a positive step towards stemming the tide on poaching and the illegal wildlife trade especially in Asia where much of the demand originates. Poaching is considered to be one of the most immediate threats to the survival of many species globally and so we applaud DotAsia for their commitment and leadership in taking a proactive stance on this critical wildlife issue for imperiled species like Tigers with as few as 3200 of the big cats remaining in the wild,” said WFEN Executive Director and co-founder Julie Stein.
WFEN Founding Corporate Network Members share the WFEN vision for a world where people and wildlife not only coexist but thrive and are committed to sourcing and creating beautiful products that are made in a manner that respect the producers, land, and wildlife and tourism that engages tourists as partners in conservation. WFEN membership is open to businesses and non-governmental organizations who are committed to the WFEN mission and who actively contribute to Wildlife Friendly® business practices. This contribution may be through building Wildlife Friendly® supply chains, production, sourcing and selling Certified Wildlife Friendly® products, building increased awareness and demand with consumers, and implementing best practices for biodiversity conservation and business, and addressing the illegal wildlife trade.
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About DotAsia Organisation
DotAsia (https://www.dot.asia) is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization (DotAsia Foundation: IRD 91/12820) with a mandate to promote Internet development and adoption in Asia. DotAsia operates the “.Asia” top-level domain (TLD) as part of the core global Internet infrastructure, and is formed as an open consortium of official domain authorities in Asia, including .CN (China), .JP (Japan), .KR (Korea), .IN (India), .NZ (New Zealand), .PH (Philippines), etc., and regional Internet organizations including APNIC, APNG, APIA, APCERT, APRALO and APTLD, etc.
Since the launch of “.Asia”, DotAsia has proactively contributed to the Asia community, supporting many charitable projects, e.g.: One-Laptop-Per-Child Asia Pacific (https://www.olpc.asia), Information Society Innovations Fund (https://www.isif.asia), Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (https://www.aprigf.asia), Food Revolution Day initiative with Jamie Oliver (https://www.frd.asia), NetMission.Asia (youth volunteer program &network — https://www.netmission.asia), Go.Asia (https://www.go.asia), and many more.
About Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network
WFEN and its Certified Wildlife Friendly® and Predator Friendly® certification programs represent grassroots farmers, ranchers, artisans, indigenous communities and conservation heroes from around the world including two World Bank Development Marketplace Award winners, a U.N. Equator Prize winner, leadership in the world’s marketplace for REDD+ Carbon Offsets, a Time Hero for the Planet, and a National Geographic Big Cats Initiative grantee. Certified Wildlife Friendly® products contribute to the conservation of over twelve million hectares of diverse wetlands, forests, and grasslands; protect keystone endangered species in Asia, Africa, and Latin and North America, including the Snow Leopard, Elephant, Cheetah, and Wolf; and benefit over 200,000 people through increased food security, income and employment. For more information visit: www.wildlifefriendly.org
Contacts:
DotAsia Organisation
Beatrice Chan: beatrice@dot.asia
Ajitora: ajitora@dot.asia
Wildlife Friendly
Julie Stein: Julie@wildlifefriendly.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Online Pledge Makes Tourists Partners in Conservation of Gorillas in the Wild
Kigali, Rwanda, 20 June 2014 – The International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) and Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) announce the launch of the Gorilla Friendly™ Pledge, an awareness raising campaign developed to minimize the risk of disease transmission from human to gorilla, during treks to see these magnificent great apes in the wild.
Launched to coincide with the peak gorilla trekking tourist season and Kwita Izina, the annual baby gorilla naming ceremony which takes place in Rwanda on July 1, Gorilla Friendly™ Pledge will serve to safeguard gorillas by minimizing the risk of disease transmission or behavioral change as a result of exposure to people.
“Conscientious mountain gorilla tourism has contributed to one of the world’s true conservation success stories. By demonstrating that gorillas and their forest habitat can provide real and lasting benefits to people and economies, people living around the parks have become their guardians,” states Anna Behm Masozera, Director of the coalition International Gorilla Conservation Programme. “But we cannot be complacent and now is the time to better equip tourists with the tools to become gorilla guardians as well. This Pledge aims to empower tourists visiting any of the gorilla subspecies in the wild across Africa with information as to the regulations in place for gorilla tourism to make these often once-in-a-lifetime experiences even more valuable – to their experience and to the gorillas.”
The Pledge outlines ten simple things that incoming gorilla tourists can do before, during and after their visit, including providing feedback on their experience.
The content of the Pledge originates from existing visitation rules and regulations defined by the leading experts on great apes and outlined in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism and has been endorsed by a wide range of institutions and organizations.
“We are very excited to be part of this innovative effort to engage tourists as active participants in the conservation of one of the world’s most iconic endangered species, the mountain gorilla,” said Julie Stein, Executive Director of the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network. “We believe consumers, in this case tourists, can be empowered to support global conservation efforts and, through the Gorilla Friendly™ Pledge, enable them to make a significant contribution towards safeguarding mountain gorillas for future generations.”
