Rebecca has been working at FFI since September 2007. Though she studied conservation in her BA and MSc, she decided that the life in the jungle just wasn't for her. Having grown up in New York City, she has experienced more pigeons and squirrels than parrots and spider monkeys. So she decided to write about the impact that FFI's projects have on the ground.
Her current role as Communications Officer (Business & Biodiversity) has allowed her to focus her energy towards FFI's innovative Business & Biodiversity Programme. Rebecca helps to get the message out about FFI's strategic corporate partnerships and what they have helped to achieve for global biodiversity.
Spain has agreed to give Portugal 20 of its Iberian lynxes, in a bid to save the species from extinction. Spain currently has the only active breeding centre for Iberian lynx. Portugal has built a new breeding centre especially to receive lynx from Spain.
This new development is a concrete example of how Spain and Portugal are working together to protect the world’s most endangered cat species. The Iberian lynx is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with just 200 believed to survive in the wild.
“This is fantastic news for Iberian lynx conservation,” said Paul Hotham, Regional Director of Eurasia. “The next step is to make sure that once lynx bred in this new centre are released, they have somewhere to live. That’s why FFI is focusing on safeguarding lynx habitat in Portugal.”
So far FFI and our partner the Liga para a Protecção da Natureza have together secured nearly 10,000 hectares of lynx habitat. We are working hard to secure further habitat and to ensure that all secured areas have sufficient numbers of rabbit – the lynxes primary prey species – to support lynx. FFI works by signing five year contracts with both private and public land owners, which allows lynx habitat management on the land.
Donate