Lopes Pereira donates award to create Fund for Rangers in Mozambique

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Lopes Pereira donates award to create Fund for Rangers in Mozambique

5:11 CAT | 04 Aug 2020

ANAC

Mozambican veterinarian Caros Lopes Pereira has donated the £50,000 prize money he received in recognition for his lifetime dedication to nature conservation in Africa to create a support fund for rangers in Mozambique’s conservation areas.

Known as “the terror of poachers” due to his implacable opposition to poaching both in the bush and in the corridors of power, Carlos Lopes Pereira was honoured by Prince William for 33 years of nature preservation work in Mozambique.

The 65-year-old wildlife epidemiologist, university professor and, more recently, director of the inspection and protection service of the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC), donated the full monetary value of the 2019 ‘Prince William Award for Conservation in Africa’ prize to a fund for Mozambican rangers.

ALSO READ: Mozambique: ANAC officer wins Prince William Award for Conservation

The Dr Carlos Lopes Pereira Fund, which is open to contributions from any other donor, will be managed by Biofund, which contributed with an equal amount, raising the initial capital to 8,600,000 meticais, .

“The fund has now been set up and the annual awards will start next year,” Sean Nazerali, director of innovative financing, said at the launch on Monday.

The goal is to “encourage the bravery and dedication” of rangers in the preservation of fauna, flora and habitat in Mozambique’s conservation areas.

“To ensure that it is something permanent, the fund capital is invested and only the annual income goes to the prizes,” explains Sean Nazerali.

Awards will be divided into two categories, the first being for career achievement, and the second to the ‘Ranger of the Year’.

“We are still discussing, within the committee, how many annual awards we are going to give, and what the criteria will be,” Nazerali added, mentioning that several rangers could be awarded in the second category.

The jury will be selected by a team from Biofund and the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) of Mozambique.

In addition to the prize, said Sean Nazerali, the fund will help support the families of rangers who die or become disabled during the exercise of their activities.

In July, Biofund made available US$3 million to help pay the salaries of around 1,000 rangers who have seen their income drop due to the lack of visitors caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to ANAC, a total of 18 rangers were killed by poachers and wild animals between 2012 and April this year.

CONSTITUÍDO FUNDO DE APOIO AOS FISCAIS DAS ÁREAS DE CONSERVAÇÃO

Para saber mais sobre o lançamento no link abaixo.https://t.co/8D1dlk7HxZ pic.twitter.com/dBiQ9BjIjJ

— BIOFUND Moz (@BIOFUND_Moz) August 4, 2020