ClientEarth receives Arcadia grant for vital EU wildlife protection work

ClientEarth today announced that it has received a new five-year award to support its work using the law to protect wildlife across the European Union.

The GBP £2.25 million funding award from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, will enable ClientEarth to continue working with partners across Europe to enforce laws that protect wildlife and the most precious habitats in Europe.

The grant is part of an ongoing relationship between ClientEarth and Arcadia and will build on the success of previous projects. It will allow the environmental law charity to capitalise on the success of its recent wildlife work – including protecting wildlife and habitats in Poland – and to expand its work protecting vital habitats in other EU countries.

In April this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union found that Poland had violated EU law by issuing logging permits in the Bialowiezia Forest. The case resulted from a complaint made to the European Commission by ClientEarth and six other partner organisations.

Anna Heslop, who will lead the project at ClientEarth said: “With Arcadia’s generous support, ClientEarth will continue taking action to safeguard the most important places and wildlife in the EU. We will take strategic legal interventions to enforce laws which protect nature, and will work with partners across the EU to enhance and defend these laws.”

As part of the project, ClientEarth will seek to share knowledge and expertise with other organisations and the public, through media briefings, its website and other communications channels.

About Arcadia

Arcadia is a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. It supports charities and scholarly institutions that preserve cultural heritage and the environment. Arcadia also supports projects that promote open access and all of its awards are granted on the condition that any materials produced are made available for free online. Since 2002, Arcadia has awarded more than $500 million to projects around the world.