Mr. Hai Berden (founder of Seacon Logistics) and Mrs. Corrie Berden proudly receive their BJF Jaguar sculpture as a symbolic start of our partnership.
People, planet, profit – Seacon Logistics has always attached great importance to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Seacon is a global logistical company with a presence in 75 countries worldwide. They are dedicated to running their operations in a way that reduces their environmental impact and limits CO2 emissions. We are very proud of our new partnership with Seacon! Their values beautifully align with our own, striving to create a better world for the next generation.
Back in August, the Black Jaguar Foundation gave a lecture for students partaking in the Environmental Law and Policy course taught by Professor Heidi M. Hurd (Illinois University) at FGV Law School in São Paulo . After the lecture, Francisco Macedo (Partnerships Coordinator) was invited by Prof. Hurd to do a roadshow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The roadshow took place in November 2018. Its main objectives were to raise awareness around deforestation in the Brazilian Cerrado savannah and Amazon rainforest and promote the initiatives led by the Black Jaguar Foundation on its mission to realise the Araguaia Corridor, the largest biodiversity corridor on earth.
In Illinois, Francisco had the honor of (i) delivering an address at a Luncheon Seminar, attended by Environmental Policy students and some college of Law Faculty members, (ii) speaking individually to over fifteen local professors from different faculties in order to discuss potential partnerships between the University of Illinois and the Black Jaguar Foundation and (iii) deliver a keynote at the Land Conservation Foundation annual dinner
Apart from enlarging the BJF Community, Francisco’s trip was very productive and the outcomes range from financial donations to the establishment of scientific partnerships to be announced soon… We will keep you posted!
After the time spent at the University of Illinois, Francisco also flew to New York City to host a series of fundraising meetings. These meetings also turned out to have a great positive financial outcome for the BJF.
BJF’s core team keeps on expanding! We now have a dedicated communications coordinator, Eloise Moench, who takes charge of our internal and external communications. This involves ensuring our sponsor partners are up to date with the latest news, building our social media presence and making sure our whole team is aligned and informed about how our grand project is developing.
Eloise is from the UK but moved to the Netherlands almost two years ago to study a Philosophy Masters. She specialized in climate negotiations- exploring how philosophical ideas of distributive justice can instruct the ways in which we internationally share the costs of climate change. After completing her degree she decided to stay in the Netherlands and begin working for the BJF, promoting and communicating the importance of our mission. We are happy to have her on board!
2019 is already here, and we couldn’t be more grateful to have you with us. Thanks to your support, we’ve accomplished many milestones in 2018. Together we:
Completed the Mapping Task of the entire 10,4 million ha Araguaia Corridor Zone thanks to our partner World Resources Institute (Brasil).
Completed the Biodiversity Planning of over 6,000 ha.
Expanded our community of restoration & mapping partners in Brazil.
Constructed two nurseries for native trees and started our restoration work on the ground. The planting has started!
There are so many more milestones to share with you! That’s why we created a photo collage to get an impression.
The BJF is full of festive cheer! We have achieved so many milestones this year that would not be possible without the voluntary and financial help of all our sponsor partners and extended team. However, our mission does not stop here. In order to become one of the worlds largest reforestation projects, billions of trees still need to be planted and billions of funds still need to be raised. This holiday season give a gift to the planet, give a gift to the next generation and give a gift to yourself by donating towards our great cause.
Iguazu is the up and coming watch company dedicated towards conserving natural beauty. We have recently signed an exciting partnership with them. For each watch you buy from Iguazu, you indirectly donate to the BJF so we can plant three native trees along the corridor. Buying an Iguazu time piece is a great and stylish way of supporting our project!
Iguazu are named after the glorious Iguazu waterfalls bordering Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. These astonishing beauties are one of the Seven Wonders of Nature. The straps on Iguazu watches are also made with upcycled leather (material that would otherwise be discarded by the fashion industry). The company’s sustainable zero waste concept is fully in line with BJF values- making them a great sponsor partner!
Tannis Zimmer is an inspiration and proof that every single action can set off a chain reaction of good. Whilst living in Winnipeg, Canada, Tannis encountered the Black Jaguar Foundation by chance. From the moment she learned about the project of realizing the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor in Brazil, Tannis hasn’t stopped helping. Since 2010 she has continually organized dance sessions to support and raise funds for our mission.
“We have managed to hold between one and three jams annually for the last seven years,” says Tannis. The Jaguar Jams, as she calls the sessions, involve African dance workshops organized by her and her friends. “Each time, the response we get is incredibly positive and people are generous with their donations. We’ve even had people who do not dance but still want to support the project and leave a donation,” Tannis shares.
“I see it as humans supporting humans who are willing to dive headlong into the trenches on behalf of our beloved Mother Earth”- Tannis Zimmer, BJF Friend
Tannis first felt urged to do something for the environment after seeing an injured bird on a Sunday afternoon almost ten years ago and deciding to do an online search about animals and nature. This is when she encountered the BJF website. “I read the website from top to bottom and I was very impressed with the initiative and the details of the Araguaia Corridor project,” she remembers.
She decided to organize a fundraising performance for the BJF involving artists, business people and professionals that were all inspired by her to join the cause. “I think we had about 60 people, who were all enthusiastic about the show and the foundation, to support such an important project. After the show a spontaneous music and dance jam broke out and people that were watching in the audience got up and started dancing,” Tannis explains about how this led her to develop the idea of Jaguar Jams.
Tannis believes humans inherently understand the importance of forests for the planet no matter where they are in the world. She is incredibly grateful to be able to help BJF and the world, even if it’s only in a small way. Tannis encourages other people to do the same. “Anyone can use their skills by gathering groups of people for an event or artistic performance where the audience don’t only benefit by partaking in the fun, but also do something for the future of the planet.”
Would you like to organize a fundraising event to support our mission? If so, then don’t hesitate to get in contact with us at info@black-jaguar.org
Not only is our very own Field Coordinator taking care of nurseries, assisting farms and generating reports, he is also interacting with other organizations dedicated to replanting and restoring nature. In late September, after an invitation made by ISA (Instituto Socioambiental) to the BJF, Carlos Eduardo attended the 2018 Xingu Seed Network field visit. This was a 4-day expedition in Canarana (Mato Grosso) with a focus in ecological restoration led by the Xingu Seed Network.
He learnt a lot about the forest restoration technique known as muvuca, where thousands of native seeds, collected from preserved areas, are combined and sown over degraded land instead of being individually planted. This technique can be used with 214 species of seeds and has the potential to plant up around 6.000 trees per hectare after three years- drastically improving reforestation density. It was also promising to find out that this technique can potentially be used both the Cerrado Savannah as well as the Amazon.
During the conference he was also educated about the importance of establishing a seed network to involve local communities in the process of restoration. A seed network can promote the cooperation between local communities, public powers and farmers so that all work together for the restoration of their land. This generates income for local people and can have a positive social impact for those living around the restoration initiatives.
Eduardo was very happy to promote our mission at the conference and learn more about how to make the corridor a reality!
We are very proud to announce that the BJF has won 1st place in FCB Amsterdam’s ‘For Good’ initiative! FCB is a global player: an internationally acclaimed advertising company with 120 offices in over 80 countries worldwide. The Amsterdam branch has chosen to support the BJF as their organization of choice, donating over 150 hours of professional time to us. These donated hours can be used for strategy, studio time and creation, as well as project management and accounting.
Out of the three ‘short-listed’ charities, BJF won 49% of the overall vote, making us a clear frontrunner. It is incredible for us to see how multinational corporations are starting to independently believe in the importance of our mission and donate hours of professional energy and time to our cause.
Have you got any similar initiatives at work that you would like to put the BJF forward for? We would love to hear from you! Don’t hesitate to contact us at info@black-jaguar.org
“Biological diversity is about more than plants, animals and their ecosystems – it is about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air, water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live.”- UN Convention on Biodiversity.
From the plankton in our seas to the jaguars skulking through our forests, biodiversity is the varied and distinct totality of all life forms on earth. For any ecosystem to remain healthy and alive, it must maintain biodiversity. This is because different species perform different tasks within an ecosystem, and it is the culmination of all these tasks that keep the ecosystem functioning and alive. Just like how a multinational business wouldn’t be able to run without a combination of CEO’s, managers and interns – an ecosystem can’t survive without a synergetic mix of predators and prey, herbivores and omnivores, flora and fauna.
Healthy ecosystems provide us with critical services and natural products necessary for international human survival. For instance rainforests provide us with clean water, oxygen, food and medicine. The Amazon and Cerrado Savannah alone, which our corridor aims to restore, produce 20% of the world’s oxygen, 30% of the world’s clean water and 25% of the ingredients for all modern medicine.
These critical services and products are necessary for our global development and contribute towards the UN’s seventeen sustainable development goals (see below). These goals were set by the United Nations general assembly in 2015 and are the seventeen key initiatives that need to be maintained if we are to transform our world and begin to develop sustainably, ensuring our survival as a species. Examples of these goals are: eradicating poverty, abolishing food insecurity, maintaining clean water and sanitation for everybody living worldwide. Find out more about the sustainable development goals and how the BJF mission will promote each of them here.
Subsequently, biodiversity is a source of significant public benefit because it directly allows us to achieve these goals. We are currently living through a UN declared ‘decade of biodiversity’. This began in 2011 after the United Nations recognized how crucial biodiversity is for the livelihood of the human species and future generations.
How does the BJF project promote biodiversity? We have invested a huge portion of our time and resources into ensuring that we have the best technical partners, forest engineers and team in Brazil to realize biodiversity in the corridor. Our goal is not just to reforest but also to ecologically restore the Araguaia. With each hectare of land, we aim to methodically map out the area and plant an extensive mix of seeds, bringing back the rich and varied expanse of nature that once reigned.
Do you want to help us achieve our goal? Then get involved and discover the art of making a difference.
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We are very proud to announce that the BJF has won 1st place in FCB Amsterdam’s ‘For Good’ initiative! FCB is a global player: an internationally acclaimed advertising company with 120 offices in over 80 countries worldwide. The Amsterdam branch has chosen to support the BJF as their organization of choice, donating over 150 hours of professional time to us. These donated hours can be used for strategy, studio time and creation, as well as project management and accounting.
