News items
1wild Foundation registered as Swiss charity
In March 2024, the charter of 1wild Foundation was submitted to Swiss authorities for approval and for tax exemption. On 20 August 2024, 1wild Foundation became a registered charity listed in the Swiss trade registry under the code CHE-246.872.879. 1wild Foundation has been endowed with the legally required sum of CHF 50'000 (USD 56'800). During the start phase, annual spending is secured by project grants added to the initial legal minimum endowment. Once endowment has culminated, 1wild Foundation will start acting as a consumption foundation, annually donating both a portion of asset interests and of assets. Whilst the impact of 1wild is limited, it can make a huge difference on the ground. To increase our reach for species and ecosystems most in need, we encourage additional donations and crowd-funding from third-party sources.
Search for project grant candidates ongoing
The 1wild Foundation board is establishing a systematic search for suitable candidates for project grant allocations which are expected to fulfil our selection criteria. For as long as our services are not widely known, we won't be shy to use a pull strategy in addition to reviewing grant requests. Especially in the start-up phase of 1wild, but also afterwards, conservation projects that are only partly compatible with these criteria can be funded if we consider them useful. We therefore encourage all conservationists with relevant practical projects to apply for a grant.​
New projects identified for support
The 1wild Foundation board has identified 5 new projects for support. Four of these have already received funds in 2024. They include new activities of 3 programmes we have been supporting earlier. One is evaluating a new monitoring technique for assessing the survival of formerly extinct-in-the-wild Partula tree snail species in Tahiti and Moorea (Polynesia). A second uses community work to protect a key habitat for a growing population of the critically endangered Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey in Peru; and the third expands community work and population monitoring of the rarest canid in Africa, the Ethiopian Wolf, in the Bale mountains of Ethiopia.
Awareness-building for Painted terrapins
Our first project grant paid out in 2025 was approved in late 2024. It will increase awareness for the plight of the Painted Terrapin in Aceh Province (Sumatra, Indonesia). Currently this species is under tremendous pressure from poaching for eggs and from degradation of its river and ocean beach and mangrove habitats, which are degraded for fish and shrimp aquaculture and oil palm production. It also suffers from high direct mortality through fishing. Although the Painted Terrapin is protected in Indonesia, the number of mature individuals is in continuing decline across its populations, and egg collection for local consumption continues. This project, conducted by SatuCita Foundation, will inform communities in key strongholds of the species, making local fishermen aware of the decline and high extinction risk of this species. This approach has worked well in the past, so we are hopeful to make an impact.
Captive breeding to save the Patagonian huemul
One of the rarest cervids globally, the huemul’s remaining population is app. 1500, at very low densities and in highly fragmented populations, with no signs of population growth. Due to disturbance, this species is restricted to summer ranges lacking critical trace minerals, resulting in severe health problems in most Argentinean huemul. This project aims to remedy this situation in the long term and thus provide this super-rare endemic species with a foothold again. Captive breeding and reintroducing huemul in formerly used winter ranges is expected to improve huemuls' health condition, allowing resumption of population growth. This project was approved in the fall of 2024.
1wild Foundation is tax-exempt
On January 28, 2025, the Swiss authorities granted the 1wild Foundation tax exemption based on its charitable status.
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1wild Foundation supports 7 more programmes protecting over 20 EDGE species
In the first half of 2025, 1wild Foundation has awarded grants totalling around USD 74'000 to conservation programmes protecting more than 20 EDGE species, from rare salamanders in the cloud forests of Veracruz (Mexico) to endangered West African crocodiles. Project locations range from Polynesia through the Indonesian Sunda islands to Patagonia.
1wild Foundation sponsors eDNA monitoring in Palawan, Philippines
1wild Foundation has agreed to fund (through ETH Foundation) a 1-year pilot project by ETH Zurich which will monitor biodiversity in the Philippine island of Palawan through sampling environmental DNA (eDNA). Palawan, which forms part of a global biodiversity hotspot, hosts several EDGE species and rare endemics. The eDNA pilot project, initiated by Professor Loïc Pellissier of ETH Zurich, is conducted in cooperation with a local university. Prof. Pellissier is the mastermind and originator of the WildinSync initiative, which is dedicated to long-term monitoring of biodiversity at a large number of sites across the globe. If the Palawan project is successful, 1wild will repeat its support in 2026 and 2027. eDNA monitoring holds great potential for identifying the presence of rare species which are difficult to observe directly. 1wild also engages in protecting the critically endangered Philippine cockatoo (Katala) in Palawan.