The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund began 2025 with one of its most ambitious conservation commitments to date. In partnership with Malaysia’s Enggang Management Services, the Fund announced a US$22 million, five-year initiative to establish Southeast Asia’s first tiger reserve, dedicated to protecting the critically endangered Malayan tiger and other threatened species.

The initiative will support the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve, a 1,340 km² protected area bordering Taman Negara National Park, creating a secure landscape for one of the world’s rarest big cats and the wildlife that shares its habitat.

With fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remaining in the wild, the initiative is a significant contribution to global efforts to prevent the species’ extinction and protect one of Southeast Asia’s most important biodiversity strongholds.

The Fund is extremely proud and grateful for the support of The GEF.  For more than three decades, GEF has served as one of the world’s leading environmental financing mechanisms, providing more than US$27 billion, primarily as grants, and mobilising over US$155 billion in co-financing for environmental initiatives across more than 170 countries. Through its support of international biodiversity agreements, climate action, and sustainable development, GEF has become a cornerstone of global environmental cooperation.

In 2024, the Fund and GEF formalised a partnership through the Fonseca Leadership Program, established in memory of the late Gustavo Fonseca, one of the conservation community’s most respected leaders. Named after GEF’s long-serving Director of Programs, the initiative seeks to support the next generation of conservation leaders in developing countries.

Together, the GEF and the Fund are helping conservationists protect species, strengthen ecosystems, and deliver results where they are needed most. Through this partnership alone, more than 145 projects have been supported across 46 developing countries, with approximately 40 percent led by women conservationists.

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and the National Aquarium Abu Dhabi marked the first anniversary of their African Manatee Conservation Programme, celebrating a partnership dedicated to protecting one of Africa’s most elusive aquatic mammals. Together, they support the African Aquatic Conservation Fund in its mission to safeguard African manatees in their natural habitats.

The initiative advances conservation, scientific research, and local capacity building across Africa. During the first two years the programme has enabled the first-ever acoustic and genetic studies of wild African manatees, providing valuable new insights into the species. Two rescued manatees, Nyoti and Sengou, have settled comfortably into their new home, where researchers are able to study their behaviour, communication, and skin microbiota. These findings are guiding scientific understanding of this rare and endangered species while informing future conservation efforts.