A US non-profit has launched a $50 million fund that will focus on protecting endangered national parks in developing countries in a bid to help meet UN goals on biodiversity and climate.

San Francisco-based Global Conservation said this week it has established the Global Parks Fund, which will “protect 100 of the last intact forests and habitats”.

“Protecting national parks is the most cost-effective solution for stopping deforestation and preserving biodiversity,” said Jeff Morgan, Global Conservation’s founder and executive director, and a former Silicon Valley executive.

Morgan said the new fund would be critical in meeting the Global Biodiversity Framework of protecting 30% of global land by 2030.

The new fund will also contribute towards 1% of global climate ambitions by the end of this decade, according to the organisation.

“Forest loss, especially in the tropics – Amazon, Congo and Asia – is responsible for nearly 12% of the climate crisis,” said Morgan.

“By protecting 100 existing national parks with large, intact forests in developing countries, the Global Parks Fund can protect over 100 million acres of tropical forests and wildlife habitats, equating to eliminating 250 million automobiles.”

The Global Parks Fund will build on the model of Global Conservation’s Global Park Defense, which it said is in use in over 25 national parks worldwide.

That programme involves investing in technology like satellite imagery and drones, cellular trail cameras, marine radars and patrol systems, and training armed rangers to handle poachers, illegal loggers, and other threats to the parks.

Global Conservation’s current project portfolio includes Mirador national park in Guatemala, the Leuser ecosystem in Indonesia, Murchison Falls national park in Uganda, Thailand’s Thap Lan World Heritage Site, and many others, according to its website.

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