ICFC conserves nature and endangered wildlife in over 30 countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Our Mission:  To advance the long-term preservation of nature and biodiversity in the tropics and other priority areas worldwide.

Why the tropics?  Biodiversity abounds in the tropics and this is where it is most under threat. Tropical nature benefits the entire world by regulating climate, preserving biodiversity, and supplying fresh water, rainfall, pollinators, and much else. Canada's migratory birds depend on tropical wintering areas.

With respect to climate change, tropical forests (including mangroves) are crucial given the large potential to reduce emissions from deforestation and sequester carbon by allowing degraded forests to recover.  Top priorities are conserving primary rainforests, coastal ecosystems and peatlands.

ICFC in action...

ICFC works with experienced local field partners who have identified a solution to a conservation problem and have the means to carry it out.  Our programs provide outstanding conservation value in relation to cost and risk.

We have four program areas: Land Conservation, Threatened Species, Shorebird Conservation, and Marine and Freshwater Conservation.

ICFC works with the Kayapo indigenous people to protect an area of the Brazilian Amazon larger than almost half the world’s countries. We conserve large (hundreds/thousands of km²) protected areas in Peru, Costa Rica and Kenya and have participated in land acquisitions for 12 private reserves of high conservation value. In Cambodia we have shown that marine protected areas can restore fisheries and marine ecosystems. 

Our projects protect the lives and habitat of Mali’s population of desert elephants, lowland gorillas in the Congo, rhinos in South Africa, the Meso-American Biological Corridor in Belize, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Bangladesh, Blue-throated Macaws in Bolivia, many endemic birds in Ecuador, Piping Plover wintering habitat in the Bahamas, freshwater species and fishing livelihoods in Malawi, and land along the world’s greatest vertical wildlife corridor from the Himalayas down to the largest wetland in Nepal with benefit to the Snow Leopard, Red Panda, Pangolin species, Wild Water Buffalo, freshwater dolphin, and crocodile species.  Please see our website for more details.

Selling points

ICFC was the top-ranked conservation charity in Canada in the Financial Post’s 2017 charity ratings (the last done by FP); is rated five out of five stars by Charity Intelligence Canada; and was the recipient of the Canadian Museum of Nature’s 2020 Nature Inspiration Awards.

Furthermore, 100% of your support goes to programs, because a core group of donors is committed to covering administrative costs long term.

We appreciate your interest and support. Together, we Canadians are making a positive difference in the world!

News:  On November 2nd, ICFC announced our pledge of  US$100 million through 2030 as part of the Protecting Our Planet Challenge. In doing so, we joined the largest-ever private funding commitment—over $5 billion aimed at tackling Earth’s climate and extinction crises. See related Globe and Mail story.  We are hoping our pledge (which is real and not aspirational) will encourage greater action by Canadians and our government.  The next decade will indeed be crucial for biodiversity and the climate and other benefits that nature provides.