Green groups slam BBC Wildlife Fund axe

A group of environmental charities, including Greenpeace UK and the RSPB, have criticised the BBC's decision to scrap a fund that allowed viewers to back projects aimed at helping species facing extinction.

The BBC Wildlife Fund, set up in 2007 to celebrate 50 years of the corporation's Natural History Unit, had a mission to preserve wildlife under threat, launching various appeals similar to Comic Relief and Sport Relief.

The fund has so far raised £3m in donations from the public, which has supported various conservation projects and a team of two to three employees.

However, the BBC's management has decided to close the BBC Wildlife fund as part of its drive to secure up to 20% cuts to its budget.

In a letter published in The Guardian, a group of 45 green organisations expressed their "considerable disappointment" at the proposed closure to the BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten.

The groups wrote: "The fund, in its relatively short life, has been an extraordinary success both in raising some £3m for conservation in the UK and overseas, and in bringing together a large number of environmental and development NGOs in support.

"Many have given a great deal of their time and support to the board of trustees and the excellent small staff team. Together they have attracted substantial public support."

The BBC Wildlife Fund made donations to over 87 large and small conservation projects, including the Zoological Society of London, the Kent Mammal Group and the Hawk and Owl Trust.

The organisations said in their letter that the BBC has a "unique" role in promoting "the need for conservation of the natural world to so many across the world".

They added: "In establishing the fund, we believe that the BBC recognised the respect in which the Natural History Unit is so widely held and the value of its wonderful and ground-breaking wildlife documentaries to the corporation over several decades."

In a statement to The Guardian, the BBC said that it was "proud" of the fund's achievements, but stressed that the corporation's current financial predicament requires tough choices to be made.

"As with the many difficult choices the BBC currently faces, we must focus our charitable efforts in areas where we can have the most impact. We have therefore regrettably concluded that we can no longer support the Wildlife Fund editorially," said a spokesperson.

"As a result the trustees have decided to wind down the fund but will continue to monitor and evaluate existing grants. We would like to thank them for their tremendous work over the past four years."

Helen Kellie, chair of the BBC Wildlife Fund, said on the fund's website: "We are proud to have generated funds enabling us to support vital conservation work for a variety of wildlife. This includes bringing species back from the brink of extinction."