1/ Exactly this 🎯 I’ve had many conversations & email exchanges in the past few days with people worried their entire programs will grind to a halt. multiple jobs are on the line in in-country programmes. The Musk-Trump combo could be disastrous for tackling #IWT in the longer term - ThreadSky

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social • 23 days ago

1/ Exactly this 🎯 I’ve had many conversations & email exchanges in the past few days with people worried their entire programs will grind to a halt. multiple jobs are on the line in in-country programmes. The Musk-Trump combo could be disastrous for tackling #IWT in the longer term

Reposted from Ashoka Mukpo

Something not many people are talking about with the USAID freeze (closure?): A *lot* of conservation projects are funded by them, particularly community-led ones, but also national parks, ranger equipment, etc.

The orgs I'm talking to are being quiet to avoid attention, but they're freaking out.

Comments

lelepizarroch.bsky.social•23 days ago

Some of the largest conservation IWT projects I know (in amount of money and length of time) are USAID projects. They provide dedicated funding for CWT for 3+ years in places that can’t access other funding, sustaining salaries and activities… It’s a huge loss.

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

I couldn’t agree more, it’s very bad news.

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

2/ You can still find info on what USAID has funded on other websites eg a demand reduction programme https://www.traffic.org/publications/reports/new-research-shows-alarming-levels-of-online-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-vietnam/

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

Or the Routes programme which assisted airlines in tackling trafficking https://routespartnership.org

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

4/ But go to the USAID website and it’s crickets. I’ve been critical of funding priorities (esp around security style responses) but that was intended to point to better ways of tackling IWT, not to suggest cutting funding altogether

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

5/ And last but not least, even if funding is ultimately not cut & jobs are not lost, this kind of action seriously undermines credibility & trust in USAID for communities, NGOs & government agencies on the ground. Will they want to work with US funded programmes in the future?

amweeden.bsky.social•23 days ago

Agree so much with this. US soft power has disintegrated overnight. And I’ve been wondering also: IF the tap is turned back on, and funding policies align with US foreign policy, will USG funding be heavily stigmatised? Will it become an ethical decision for the NGOs which remain?

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

Yes agreed - it should be an ethical decision….if I were in charge of an international conservation NGO…..

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

6/ just one example - @shannonrivera.bsky.social vital work was stopped by decisions made by people who do not know and do not care to know what USAID actually does https://bsky.app/profile/shannonrivera.bsky.social/post/3lgtxk4t5jc2j

joswabe.bsky.social•23 days ago

Hearing similar things from US colleagues who know people working for USAID. There is so much on the line here.

rosaleenduffy.bsky.social•23 days ago

Totally agree - it’s extremely worrying. And this is just the first few weeks of a wrecking ball ‘government’

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply