Donation to Population & Sustainability Network

The Trustees of the Wilderness Foundation UK had pleasure in awarding a donation of £1,000 to the Population and Sustainability Network earlier this week.

The aims of PSN are:

• to highlight the negative impact of population increase on economic development, poverty alleviation and the natural environment and to promote better understanding of these issues
• to ensure that the population factor becomes part of the strategic and action plans of relevant NGOs and other institutions so that voluntary family planning services are adequately resourced and available.

The Principal Sponsor of the PSN for the last four years is The Margaret Pyke Trust to whom we made the award.

The grant is to be used for the establishment of a Family Planning Service in South West Madagascar, specifically the coastal communities of Andavadoaka and surrounding villages. This donation has been made possible by the work of Rona Birnie and Henry Fletcher who raised funds for WFUK at last year's WED Trust Concert on 5th June.

The connection between wilderness and population may not at first be apparent, however potentially the greatest threat to the world's last remaining wilderness areas is increasing population and hence expanding urbanisation. You can read much more about the work of the PSN on their website here.

Thanks to all concerned with raising the funds, to the Trustees of WFUK for making this award possible and good luck to everyone at PSN involved with the establishment of the family planning service in Madagascar. We will bring you regular updates on their progress as we receive them.