RI community supporting wildlife and habitat

Desiree, Stan and I have been organising Responsible Investment drinks in Sydney for the last two years because we believe in the power of our community coming together to share and reinvigorate our common purpose.

Like everyone in the Australian RI community,we have been horrified by the unprecedented scale of the 2019/2020 Australian bush fires. The social and human costs are vast, but so to is the impact on our precious wildlife, their unique habitat and the key role they play in ecological stability.

The widely reported estimate of a billion animal deaths is truly shocking. The climate crisis, which has driven the extent and intensity of these fires, combining with the extinction crisis, where Australia is a global laggard, are pushing already vulnerable species to the brink.

While support for organisations managing the immediate impacts of the fires is important, so too is conservation efforts which seek to provide safe habitats and protect species for the long-term from these twin crises.

In the face of the current disasters, while recogising the long term drivers of these events (in true ESG style), we wanted to use our regular drinks as an opportunity to support organsiations that are both contributing to crisis recovery and long term habitat restoration.

For this reason we are asking you, our community, to support this fundraising campaign which will split any money we raise between three great organisations.

WIRES NSW who do an extraordinary job rescuing animals and who are facing significant challenges in responding to the demands of these unprecedented fires.

Bush Heritage Foundation who buy and conserve key habitats across the country, in-perpetuity. Due to the threats from invasive species and climate change, Bush Heritage do much more than buy and forget as habitat management is a year round concern.

Lastly, a third of donations will go to the WWF Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund which is raising money for wildlife response, habitat restoration and future proofing Australia.

Please donate to our campaign and share it with your employers, colleagues, friends and family to help us raise the funds these great organisations need.

Supporting this campaign, will allow those of us (including you) who work at organisations with donation matching and grant programs to apply to those programs and amplify the dollars raised and impact we can achieve. Please give generously, even though I am sure many of you have already.

Thank you!
Pablo, Desiree and Stan
Your Sydney RI Drinks organising committee

Some quick facts on the extinction crisis in Australia.

According to the UN, Australia has the highest rate of mammalian extinction in the world.

In the past decade alone, the country has lost two mammal species – the Christmas Island pipistrelle as well as the Bramble Cay melomys – and one reptile, the Christmas Island forest skink.

More than 1,800 plant and animal species and ecological communities (woodlands, forests and wetlands are examples of ecological communities) are currently at risk of extinction, a number that is increasing but which is also likely to be an underestimate of how many are truly vulnerable.

According to the Australian Museum. Many ecosystems have been lost during the past 200 years.

Some of these ecosystems include:

75% of rainforests and nearly
50% of all forests;
over 60% of coastal wetlands in southern and eastern Australia;
nearly 90% of temperate woodlands and mallee;
more than 99% of south-eastern Australia's temperate lowland grasslands;
over 83% of Tasmania's lowland grasslands and grassy woodlands;
about 95% of brigalow scrub that originally grew in Queensland;
over 90% of Victoria's grasslands.