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2024-03-31-accounts

Registered Charity No. 1183764

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2024

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Board of Trustees James Brett (Chair since 24 January 2021) Robert Hepworth (Chair until 24 January 2021) Julie Duckworth (Treasurer, re-elected 24 January 2021) Bernadette Jaye (Re-elected 24 January 2021) Treasurer and Secretary Julie Duckworth Chief Executive Dr Barbara Maas Patron Sir Ranulph Fiennes Charity number 1183764 Registered office The Atrium 4 Curtis Road Dorking RH4 1XA

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The Trustees present their report and accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

People for Nature and Peace (PNP) was entered on the UK Charity Commission Register of Charities on 6 June 2019 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). As such, PNP is strictly governed by its constitution, dated 6 June 2019. All of PNP’s staff and advisors are volunteers.

GOVERNING BODY AND STRUCTURE

Trustees

As of the date of our registration on 6 June 2019, our first governing body consists of four trustees, which have been appointed in accordance with the charity’s constitution. Future trustee appointments will follow the guidance set by the Charity Commission, PNP’s constitution, as well as any future policies regarding the appointment, induction, and training of trustees for the charity.

PNP’s current trustees manage the charity as set out in paragraph 9 (c) (3) of the constitution, and as ratified in the minutes of the trustees meeting on 27 January 2019, are:

James Brett for 4 years Chair (elected 24 January 2021) Robert Hepworth for 4 years (re-elected 24 January 2021) Julie Duckworth for 4 years Treasurer (re-elected 24 January 2021) Bernadette Jaye for 4 years (re-elected from 24 January 2021)

Operational responsibility is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer. Our project activities benefit greatly from the support of our Conservation Advisers. All our in-house operational activities, including those of the CEO, are carried out on a voluntary basis, without remuneration.

Patron

Renowned explorer and adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes acts as the charity’s patron. Described as “the world’s greatest living explorer,” Sir Ranulph has led countless expeditions to some of the world’s most remote, tough, and inaccessible regions. Sir Ranulph is an equally staunch advocate for animals and nature. We are immensely grateful to have his support.

Technical Advisors

PNP’s work benefits greatly from the skills and expertise of its international conservation and animal welfare technical advisors to further its aims and objectives.

They are as follows:

Prof Bill Ripple, Senior Conservation Adviser, professor of ecology at the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University, USA.

Lhendup Tharchen, Conservation Adviser, Chief Forestry Officer at the Royal Government of Bhutan’s Forests & Park Services, Bhutan.

Swen Busch, antipoaching and sniffer dog training expert, Germany.

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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Our mission and purpose are to preserve the Earth's biodiversity through compassionate conservation of wild species to help preserve the ecosystem functions of wild habitats on which all life depends. We also protect individual animals and foster kindness towards them and nature.

Specifically,

As set out in its constitution, People for Nature and Peace aims to promote, for the benefit of the public, the conservation protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment and recognised endangered species, in particular but not exclusively by supporting conservation projects and programmes that protect wild flora and fauna and foster responsible stewardship of the planet and its species to promote sustainable living and peace.

PNP strives to advance the education of the public in subjects pertaining to the welfare of animals, the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment and the protection and conservation of endangered species and to conduct or commission research into such subject areas, publishing the useful results thereof for the public benefit.

PNP promotes kind and compassionate behaviour towards animals by providing or assisting in the provision of facilities for the care, protection, treatment, and security of animals in need of care and attention by reason of sickness, maltreatment, poor circumstances or ill usage.

PNP’s objectives, promoting kindness towards animals and fostering compassionate and responsible stewardship of the natural world to alleviate suffering, counter species extinctions, and promote sustainable living and peace, invites the public to examine current practices impacting the world’s biodiversity and adopt approaches that facilitate survival and wellbeing.

Our Goals

1. Advance public awareness and understanding about the links between biodiversity conservation, sustainability, and peace, and promote activities that address them.

Using public education at the individual, community, national and international levels, as well as policy work and research, PNP works towards this goal by:

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Promoting an eco-centric, rather than an anthropocentric world view and inspire a culture of responsible stewardship of nature.

2 . Alleviate the erosion of the earth’s life support systems and its biodiversity through the protection of wild species and habitats, public education, policy work and research

Using public education and policy work at the individual, community, national and international levels, as well as research, PNP works towards this goal by:

3. Promote kind and oppose cruel behaviour and attitudes towards animals

Using public education and policy work at the individual, community, national and international levels, as well as research, PNP works towards this goal by:

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4. Provide, or assist in the provision of facilities, veterinary care, protection, and rehabilitation for animals in need of care and attention.

PNP aims to achieve this goal by:

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

We recognise that there are countless deserving projects that would meet and further our objectives. Never has this been more true or urgent than today. One million species are threatened with extinction and natural areas on land or in the ocean have been damaged by human activities. PNP developed an effective project selection matrix tool to assess the comparative merit of potential project activities according to a set of independent criteria. Using this tool, the trustees confirmed that, subject to funding, PNP’s ongoing projects during this financial year would be as follows (not in order of priority):

▪ Protecting Wild Species and Habitats

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These projects all work with local communities to ensure successful, inclusive, participatory, equitable and sustainable outcomes. PNP is proud to be working hand in hand with local professionals, volunteers, and communities in the furtherance of its objectives.

The trustees confirm that regard has been given to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit in each and every project it undertakes.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

People for Nature and Peace is a dedicated nature conservation and animal welfare charity run entirely by volunteers. Collectively, our experts have more than 100 years of practical experience in protecting and saving animals and wild places around the world. Our charity combines sound science with sincere compassion and offers effective and practical help fast and where it is needed most. We tackle the full spectrum of threats facing nature and animals, whether they affect individuals, populations, or species. Nature is always at the centre of our work, because without nature, there can be no us.

Three decades ago, Principle 25 of the Rio Declaration recognized that “ Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible ”. Global wildlife populations in every type of habitat are in steep decline. An estimated one million species face extinction as a result of human actions. Humans and livestock now account for almost 96% of the planet’s land vertebrate biomass. A radical change from 10,000 years ago when this relationship was still one percent humans to 99 percent wild vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians). In the 46 years between 1970 and 2016 alone, humanity eradicated 68 percent of all vertebrate populations. Fewer and fewer already weakened natural habitats and species are expected to meet an ever-growing human demand for space, food, energy, materials, clean water, and air. The results of this disparity are all around us and include climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Direct exploitation of animals and plants represents the second largest of five key drivers of this accelerating destruction. Domestic and international trade in wild animals for food, status symbols, fashion, medicines, or pets represents a key element of this dynamic. In addition, the continuing exploitation, and destruction of ecosystems and species also raises the risks for the development and spread of zoonotic diseases such as SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, these changes also affect human health.

International organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have increasingly urged the need for a fundamental, transformative rethink of the way we interact with the nature as the only way to protect and restore the Earth's degraded biodiversity and ecosystems. PNP works to heal our broken and self-destructive relationship with nature and in doing so, heal ourselves.

One of PNP’s core priorities is to help halt and reverse biodiversity loss by promoting lifestyle choices that support the life-sustaining natural functioning of our planet, which underpins all dimensions of human health, wellbeing, and quality of life. In the past year, PNP provided statements, participated in hearings, working groups and meetings to highlight these dangers, point out opportunities, and advocate for stricter wildlife protection regulations in the UK and internationally. We also provided financial and technical support for projects to protect wild species and their habitat.

PNP relies entirely on donations from individuals and businesses to carry out its work and passionately seeks their support.

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Projects Activities and Campaigns

Protecting Rhinos and Tigers in India

After a poaching free year in 2022 in the Indian state of Assam, 2023 witnessed the sad loss of two greater one-horned rhinos. However, across overall numbers continue to recover. We are delighted and proud that our antipoaching sniffer dog unit is able to contribute to this remarkable conservation success.

Poaching remains the primary threat of the world’s rhinos and tigers. These species are under siege from poachers, illegal traffickers, national and international criminal networks, art collectors, status and pleasure seekers, medical patients, and financial speculators intent on cashing in on their growing rarity. Once wide spread across Asia, greater one-horned rhinos are today only found in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. India hosts more than 80 percent of a global population of an estimated 4,014 wild greater one-horned rhinos.

Such high concentrations of rhinos and tigers make Kaziranga a mecca for international and domestic tourists. But they also act as a magnet for poachers and international wildlife traffickers, who relentlessly seek out any opportunity to kill and sell them for profit. It is thanks to the sincere commitment of the Indian and Assamese governments, the Assamese Forest Department of Assam, and police that poachers failed to kill even a single rhino in Kaziranga in 2022. As little as ten years ago, in 2013 and 2014, poachers killed 54 rhinos. Since then, rhino poaching has steadily declined. We are proud to contribute to this fantastic conservation success with our antipoaching sniffer dog team and so play a part in the authority’s dedicated fight to protect and restore these extraordinary animals and the species that share their home.

PNP set up, trains, equips, and supports a highly skilled antipoaching dog team in the central distribution range of the greater one-horned rhino: Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. Kaziranga – a UNESCO World Heritage Site - is located in the northeast Indian the state of Assam, in the floodplains of the majestic Brahmaputra River. The park boasts the largest population of rhinos in Asia and of greater one-horned rhinos on earth. According to the 2022 rhino census, the park’s population now stands at an estimated 2,613, an increase of 200 individuals since the previous count in 2018. The park’s lush landscape also provides a safe haven for over 120 Bengal tigers.

The K9 unit consists of PNP’s Belgian Malinois dog, Emy and her handler and supports the antipoaching efforts of the Indian Forest Department, its rangers, and the police. The dog team sniffs out poachers, weapons, hideouts, as well as wildlife contraband to keep rhinos, tigers, and other wildlife safe. During the past year, the unit’s work led to the arrest of numerous poachers. It has thus become an integral part of Assam's antipoaching efforts.

The team is stationed directly with the authorities and works closely with rangers, so it can respond immediately to any poaching-related incidents. The dogs can detect even the smallest traces of scent, which greatly enhances the authorities' search for illegal wildlife products and criminals. Following rhino poaching incidents, our K9 team also provided forestry officials with important leads about the poachers’ escape route. In doing so, the unit has been instrumental in the arrests of several perpetrators.

Our support includes funding handler salaries, food and veterinary care for the dog, uniforms, specialist field equipment, medical kits, and binoculars etc. We also regularly replace dog harnesses, collars, leads, lightweight portable drinking bowls, and other field gear as they wear out as a result of daily use under challenging field conditions.

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Hand in hand with Assam’s Forest officials, K9 Emy and her handler executed countless search operations and patrols in 2023. Their seamless coordination and diligent efforts contributed significantly to the safety of rhinos, elephants, tigers, and other wildlife within their area of operation, thus ensuring enhanced safety and protection of the environment as a whole.

During the first part of the year, Emy and her handler were based in Burhapahar in Kaziranga National Park. There they carried out patrolling or operational duties as requested by the Indian Forest Service. The rest of the time Emy and her handler train together to hone their skills and to keep active during non-working field days. On 11[th] January, Emy and her handler were accompanied by Superintendent of Police of Nagaon District Range Officer, three Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF), one Commando from Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF), one ranger and two forest guards while discharging their patrolling duties.

From August 2023 onwards, K9 Emy and her handler were deployed in the Panbari Range of Manas National Park. This area is renowned for its population of the endangered One-Horned Rhinos along with other threatened species like tigers, Asian elephants, and bears.

Continued training of both dogs and handlers is essential for the unit’s effective and safe operation. In April 2023, PNP’s antipoaching and sniffer dog expert, retired special forces police dog trainer and handler, Mr Swen Busch, and PNP’s CEO, Dr Barbara Maas set out on a field training visit to Assam. Over the course of a one-week training programme, Mr Busch successfully refreshed, deepened, and expanded antipoaching and tracking skills of four antipoaching dogs and seven handlers. We were also able to replace worn out leads, harnesses, collars, and toys for the dogs, as well as new field gear and uniforms for the handlers.

Although rhino poaching numbers in Assam continue to be low, the threats to rhinos and other imperilled species remain a pressing concern due to the persistent demands from poachers and wildlife traffickers. Our highly proficient anti-poaching sniffer dog unit has been instrumental in sustaining efforts to contain the ambitions of ruthless criminal elements. Once again, the team exhibited exceptional effectiveness in its duties. The ability to detect poachers, firearms, hide outs, and illegal contraband significantly bolstered wildlife crime prevention efforts with tangible results. Thus, the team’s involvement notably heightened the success rate of anti-poaching initiatives, amplifying its pivotal role in investigating and curbing wildlife crime.

Antipoaching K9 units play an important role in preventing and combating rhino poaching. These specialist units add a great advantage when tracking poachers and detecting wildlife contraband. The dogs are trained to sniff out poachers across rugged terrain or in settlements, protect their handlers and rangers, and detect ammunition and other paraphernalia, which poachers often hide before a they strike. They are also vital to identifying and locating horns of poached rhinos at roadblocks and security checks.

If required, the dogs are capable of apprehending suspected wildlife criminals. They pick up the scent, track it and, if a poacher attempts to escape, are able to catch up with and restrain the suspect. Communities close to the parks also experience the unit’s patrols first-hand and witnesses how the team detects and uncovers firearms, rhino horn and other contraband. This provides a further advantage in the never-ending fight against illegal rhino and wildlife killing.

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Assam Flood Appeal

Each year between June and September heavy monsoon rains cause the Brahmaputra River to burst its banks and submerge around two-thirds of the Kaziranga National Park. The floods put the rhinos and other wild animals at risk from drowning, vehicle collisions, starvation, and poaching.

The yearly flooding is critical to sustain the area’s rich plains, which support exceptional biodiversity and fertile agricultural land. But in recent years the flooding has become more severe, causing devastation and casualties among people and wildlife.

Rhinos are solitary animals and fiercely territorial. Trying to escape the floods, they crowd together on small elevated hills, turned into islands by the rising waters and become even more vulnerable to poachers at a time when patrolling the park is most difficult. With much of their habitat under water, lack of food and hunger adds to the animals’ woes. Desperate for food and high ground, wild animals are more likely to venture into human settlements, fields, and tea plantations, which can spark conflicts that easily turn violent or deadly.

To evade the floods, many animals make their way south to the highlands of Karbi Anglong. But to get there, they must cross a busy highway. Cars, trucks, and buses fly along the road at breakneck speed day and night every day of the week. Accidents are inevitable, as scores of stressed, exhausted, and hungry elephants, rhinos, small and large deer, and other wild animals have no choice but to take their chances against the traffic. Colleagues from our Indian partner organisation, including our dog handler, are assisting the authorities around the clock by enforcing speed limits at crossing points out of the park.

PNP continues to seek donations to support them with torches, raincoats, binoculars, and other field equipment.

To help mitigate the risk of zoonotic diseases and pandemics, counteract the loss of biodiversity, and preserve the Earth's life support systems, we work to end the trade in wildlife and their products.

Trophy Hunting

Close to 125,000 trophies of species that are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) were imported globally in the five years between 2014 and 2018. PNP believes that killing protected species for the thrill of the kill and to collect trophies is scientifically unacceptable from an ecological, economic, or ethical perspective. Trophy hunters focus on healthy animals with the most imposing trophies. These are typically those with the best genetic makeup. Removing them therefore damages populations that extends well beyond the killing of individual animals by affecting overall population ecology, particularly among already depleted, threatened, and protected species. In addition, trophy hunting is usually poorly regulated and often subject to corruption. Hunting quotas are frequently set based on outdated or non-existent population figures and tend to be set unrealistically high to increase monetary gains. Realistic reproduction rates or other human-induced causes of mortality are often ignored. The IUCN WCEL Ethics Specialist Group also emphasized "that trophy hunting is not a sustainable form of use and should be rejected". Moreover, trophy hunters often use hunting methods that extend animal suffering, such as the use of bow and arrow, crossbows, muzzle-loaders, or handguns.

In addition, the alleged economic benefits of trophy hunting that reach local communities are negligible, if they exist at all, and tend to amount to a few USD per capita a year. They thus fall significantly short of what is necessary to support local livelihoods or incentivise species and habitat conservation. Moreover, management costs often far exceed the revenue derived from trophy

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hunting. This in turn can lead to huntable wild animals being eliminated entirely from such areas before they are abandoned entirely.

PNP advocates a ban on the import of hunting trophies in the UK and elsewhere. To this end, PNP actively participated in efforts to support the UK Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, which would make it illegal for British hunters to import body part ‘trophies’ of endangered and vulnerable wild animals back to the UK. We also collaborate with more than 135 international conservation and animal protection organizations that are committed to promoting sustainable species conservation without trophy hunting in Africa. Much of our activities were once again centred around efforts to debunk the deluge of erroneous and misleading claims put forward by trophy hunting proponents to justify their activities.

Buddhist Wildlife Demand Reduction Initiative in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is a major hub for national and international wildlife trade - both legal and illegal. The region also plays a key role as an end-market as well as onward trafficking in the illegal trafficking of high-value endangered species products, including elephant ivory and rhino horn. SE Asian markets therefore play a key role in the accelerating destruction of both local, regional, and global biodiversity and have been identified as a hotspot for the development of new zoonotic diseases.

PNP CEO Dr Barbara Maas, also serves as Secretary for Environment and Conservation of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). The IBC is the world’s largest Buddhist umbrella body and consists of 320 member organisations from 39 countries, including the most senior Buddhist leaders in the three project countries. At Dr Maas’s initiative, the IBC supports three innovative public awareness and wildlife demand reduction campaigns in Vietnam, Bhutan, and Mongolia. Under the title ‘Buddha Nature’ the project draws on the fundamental Buddhist principles of compassion towards all life, universal responsibility, and interdependence. By promoting compassionate and sustainable lifestyle choices, based on the Buddha’s 2500-year-old teachings, the initiative aims to make a tangible contribution towards mitigating zoonotic disease spread and spillover risks, sustainability, and biodiversity loss, while fostering livelihood protection and peace. The project is funded by the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade, an initiative of the German government in collaboration with NABU International.

In early 2023 Dr Maas visited Bhutan at the invitation of our new country project partner, the Central Monastic Body of Bhutan. During this visit, we were able to secure the support of the country’s most senior Buddhist leaders, and the rector and dean of the country’s Buddhist university. We also were honoured to speak to several hundred students at the Institute of Science of Mind in the capital Thimphu to inform them about our collaborative programme.

It was a particular honour to be part of the Global Buddhist Summit (GBS) in the Indian capital, Delhi, in April 2023. At our initiative, one-health and biodiversity conservation not only featured as one of the event’s five themes, but we were also entrusted with the role of session coordinators. The event was attended by more than 500 Buddhist leaders from around the globe, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Many of those present heard about the project and its rationale for the first time. We are deeply grateful to the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) for its continued support of our work for nature and wildlife, for giving us the opportunity to coordinate a session on environmental protection and wildlife trade at the GBS, and for funding our and the expert speaker’s attendance.

In Mongolia, our partners, the Association of Mongolian Buddhist Devotees (AMBD) welcomed the much-appreciated new partnerships with the Head of Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace, one of

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Mongolia’s senior monks, to spread the project’s conservation and animal welfare message. In addition to visiting seven of provinces in support of the project, the collaboration also resulted in a special edition of Dhammaduta, the magazine of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace, dedicated to wildlife and nature conservation. The publication is distributed Asia-wide in several languages incl. English as an online and print edition. Further new collaborations were forged with the Mongolian Wildlife Police, the National Centre for Zoonotic Diseases, the Ministry of Education.

The project’s message was also disseminated via social media, an art exhibition, a children’s art competition, prominent billboard displays, video messages on public buses and television. The initiative has already reached more than 1.8 million citizens across the three project countries.

Protecting the world’s rarest marine dolphins in New Zealand

Māui and Hector's dolphins are the smallest and rarest marine dolphins on earth and New Zealand's only native dolphin species. Fishing with gillnets and trawl nets has killed them almost to the point of extinction. Commercial and recreational fishing is decimating Māui and Hector's dolphins because less than a fifth of their habitat is protected. The dolphins' extinction is inevitable under these conditions.

Both subspecies inhabit coastal waters up to a depth of 100 metres: Hector's primarily around the South Island and Māui dolphins mainly off the west coast of the North Island. Both subspecies have suffered devastating declines since the 1970s. Today just 10,000 Hector's dolphins survive – a mere third of the original population. Māui dolphins have become so rare that they can only cope with a single death due to human activities every 10-23 years. Yet fisheries bycatch alone kills an estimated 3-4 individuals each year, pushing the animals to the very cusp of extinction. Hector's dolphin populations too have become dangerously small with at least two of numbering 45 individuals or less, and one down to around 200.

Gillnetting and trawling throughout the dolphins' habitat must end if they are to survive. The Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission has sharply criticised New Zealand for failing to protect the dolphins’ habitat. But like the Recommendations of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) and the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society, the IWC scientists have been entirely ignored.

PNP has joined forces with the world’s leading Māui and Hector’s dolphin expert, Prof Liz Slooten, to facilitate the creation of a contiguous marine protected area across the dolphins' habitat, where the dolphins are safe from harmful nets, seabed mining, petroleum exploration, drilling, and production. To this end, Dr Maas and Prof Slooten have successfully championed the habitat of the world's smallest dolphins as a recognized Hope Spot of legendary oceanographer Silvia Earle’s Mission Blue conservation alliance. The dolphins’ plight was recognised by Mission Blue’s experts and are grateful to Sylvia Earle for issuing a personal video plea to the New Zealand government on the dolphins’ behalf.

PNP engages in discussions about the science of Māui and Hector’s dolphin management in New Zealand and internationally. In line with recommendations made by the IUCN, we urge an end of commercial and recreational gillnetting and trawling across the dolphins’ habitat. To facilitate these measures, we urge that affected fishermen be transitioned to environmentally sustainable fishing methods or alternative livelihoods. Furthermore, no seismic blasts are to take place within at least 50 nautical miles of the protected area boundary. In addition, PNP calls for strictly enforced speed and noise restrictions across the dolphins' home. Lastly, we recommended that dolphin watching

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and swim-with activities should be regulated and monitored according to internationally accepted best practice standards.

Our work to save the Māui and Hector’s dolphins will continue by supporting research and urging science-based decision making to avert the dolphins’ extinction.

Ending the international trade in polar bears skins and products

Although climate change already threatens their survival, each year 600 - 800 polar bears are killed for their skins and as hunting trophies. Almost 53,500 polar bears died this way between 1963 and 2016 – that’s more than twice today’s global population. This trade is entirely legal and further weakens the bears’ chances of survival.

PNP is working to eliminate this unnecessary and easily avoidable threat to polar bear survival of by actively promoting a long-overdue ban on international trade in polar bear products, including skins, and hunting trophies. At the same time, we are committed to draw attention to sustainable and far more lucrative alternative income streams for affected arctic communities in the form of lowimpact, small-scale boat-based tourism. Ending the trade in polar bear products is the most important conservation action we can take for polar bears right now. Resolving the effects of climate change is a much more difficult and longer road.

Canada has stewardship over approximately two thirds of the world’s polar bears. It is also the last among five polar bear range states to permit these exports. In fact, Canada even promotes this trade. The continued loss and thinning of sea ice, as a result of climate change poses a significant and well-recognized long-term threat to polar bears. However, Canada does not take the effects of climate change into account when setting polar bear quotas. Moreover, crucial information to determine whether these hunts are sustainable is often missing, being withheld, decades out of date or highly unreliable. In the words of one of the world’s leading polar bear experts, polar bear killquotas have largely been set against scientific advice for two decades. Sustainability is further eroded by a preference for large, healthy bears amongst fur and trophy hunters.

To address this much-neglected conservation priority, PNP is working towards a ban on international trade in polar bear skins and hunting trophies through the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in endangered species. PNP first introduced the issue at the conference of the parties to CITES in 2019.

The covid pandemic had prevented us from carrying out many of our plans with regard to this initiative. PNP secured the support of several international polar bear experts, organisations and individuals concerned about the need for evidence-based polar bear conservation and management. This has become even more urgent since the responsible regional authorities in Canada adopted plans to pursue the active reduction of polar bear numbers. We also intensified public outreach through our website and social media platforms to grow awareness about this much neglected aspect of polar bear conservation. (e.g., in the run-up and during International Polar Bear Day). In an effort to gain European support against the international trade of polar bear skins and hunting trophies, we partnered up with German conservation organisation NABU International. A petition in support of this goal was supported by 30,000 signatories. It was presented to the European Parliament by PNP CEO Dr Barbara Maas and NABU International Chair, Mr Olaf Tschimpke.

We will continue to monitor the commercial trade in polar bear products and pursue an end to international trade in polar bear parts throughout the coming year.

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International Collaborations and Partnerships

International Wildlife Trade

PNP works closely with animal protection and conservation organizations in the UK and across the globe. We are an active member of the Species Survival Network (SSN), a global alliance of nongovernmental environmental, conservation and animal protection organizations that provides a framework for international cooperation. The SSN is committed to the promotion, enhancement, and strict enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Through scientific and legal research, education, and advocacy, the SSN is working to prevent over-exploitation of animals and plants as a result of international trade.

Protecting the Ocean

Founded and led by world-renowned oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue is a global coalition dedicated to inspire public awareness and support for a worldwide network of marine protected areas that are large enough to restore the ocean – so-called Hope Spots. PNP has been part of Mission Blue since its formation in 2019 and acts as Mission Blue’s Hope Spot champion for both New Zealand’s Maui and Hector’s dolphins and for polar bears.

Pandemics and Wildlife Trade

Due to the associated health risks, the pandemic raised the importance of wildlife trade and human animal interactions in the minds of both the public and policy makers. With this in mind, People for Nature and Peace became a member of the "International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade". This allows us to make concrete contributions to the global debate on this critical issue. PNP’s Chief Executive, Dr Maas, also serves as an elected member of the Alliance’s Steering Committee for the Biodiversity and Wildlife Trade portfolio.

Biodiversity destruction itself is recognized as a key driver for the emergence of new zoonotic diseases. Contact with wild animals per se raises viral spillover risk and so represents a health hazard. Research has shown that the level of contact between humans and animals correlates with zoonotic virus load among species. All stages in the trade chain therefore involve interfaces that raise the risk for the emergence and transmission of zoonotic infections for both wild caught and captive bred wild animals.

Almost 75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate from animals and 65 percent of these originate in wildlife. In 2020, UN experts warned that the number of zoonotic diseases will continue to rise unless action is taken to protect wildlife and preserve the environment. Almost half of all new diseases that have moved from animals to humans after 1940 can be traced to changes in land use, agriculture, or wildlife hunting. Overexploitation and wildlife trade are associated with inherent and inevitable risks in terms of hastening the emergence of new and transmission of existing zoonotic diseases and biodiversity loss, which in turn furthers the emergence of further zoonoses. The One Health approach recognizes the interconnectedness between the health of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment. It clearly shows that the complex and inextricable interrelationships between humanity and the biosphere are not limited to climate change and species loss, but also manifests itself with regard to human health. This includes the accelerating emergence of infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans - socalled zoonoses – solely as a result of human activities.

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

The annual accounts to 31 March 2024 showed a total of £6413.08 available in cash funds. Donations to PNP raised £828.74 unrestricted, giving a total income of £10,105.51. Payments made amounted to £3692.43 with £3110.00 going to the Assam Dog Unit. The remaining £543.84 was given to administrative costs. PNP received donations In Kind to the value of £5946.25. PNP would like to sincerely thank all those who donated In Kind and other supporters who kindly donated throughout the year. We look forward to working with all our supporters in the coming year.

The main source of income to the end of 31 March 2024 was donations from individuals, charities and NGOs. PNP will continue to seek donations from individuals, businesses and foundations to support its projects and advocacy initiatives. PNP will continue to raise public awareness of its work through its website, social media and networking and hopes to raise funds appropriate to further its work.

The main financial risk to PNP is a loss of donations. Currently, PNP operates without reserves. This will be regularly reviewed to consider potential losses and unexpected expenses.

No Gift Aid funds were recovered from HMRC for the period of this report.

The Trustees confirm that they have received no remuneration or other benefits from the Charity. The Trustees also confirm that neither the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, nor the Technical Advisors have received any remuneration or other benefits from the Charity.

Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the above report and authorised that it be signed on their behalf. Signed on behalf of the Trustees for People for Nature and Peace

Signature……………………………………………………………………………………. Full Name …………………………………………………………………………………… Position ……………………………………………………………………………………… Date ……………………………………………………………………………………………

People for Nature and Peace Trustees Report for the year ending 29 March 2024

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PEOPLE FOR NATURE AND PEACE Charity No: 1183764 ANNUAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2024

Section A Receipts and Payments Receipts and Payments
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds
£ £ £
A1 Receipts
Donations 717.45 0.00 717.45
Bank refund 26.30 0.00 26.30
Subtotal 743.75 0.00 743.75
A2 Asset and investment sales, etc
0.00 0.00 0.00
Total receipts 743.75 0.00 743.75
A3 Payments
Registered address/virtual office 460.00
Fraudulent payments 26.30
Projects 3110.00
Subtotal 486.30 3110.00 3596.30
A4 Asset and Investment purchases, etc
0.00 0.00 0.00
Total payments 486.30 3110.00 3596.30
Net(of receipts/payments) 257.45 (3110.00) (2852.55)
A5 Transfer between funds
Received – PayPal to Bank Account
Donations 84.99 84.99
Sub Total 84.99 84.99

People for Nature and Peace Trustees Report for the year ending 29 March 2024

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Transfer to Bank Account 38.59 38.59
Payments (Admin – website) 56.99 56.99
Fees 0.55 0.55
Sub Total 96.13 96.13
Net(of receipts/payments) (11.14) (11.14)
A6 Cash funds last year end
Bank Account 6298.88 2965.75 9264.63
PayPal 12.14 0.00 12.14
Total 6311.02 2965.75 9276.77
Cash fund at year End
31 March 2024 6413.08
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities Section B Statement of assets and liabilities
B1 Cash funds
Bank account 6412.08 6412.08
Paypal account 1.00 1.00
Total cash fund 6413.08 6413.08

B2 Other monetary assets – B3 Investment assets – B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use –

B5 Liabilities

Registered address/virtual office (incl. mail forwarding) £422.45 to end year 31 March 2024 Registered address/virtual office Iincl. mail forwarding) £244.26 to end quarter 30 June 2024

Payments in Kind

5 protective vests for Assam Dog Unit for protection of Rhinos £2500.00
Ballistic vest for handler Assam Dog Unit for protection of Rhinos £ 793.32
Night vision binoculars donated by Bhutanese Forest Service for anti-poaching £ 525.00
K9 training Assam Dog Unit by German special forces police dog trainer £2080.00
GoDaddy domain renewal £ 47.93

People for Nature and Peace Trustees Report for the year ending 29 March 2024

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Total for donations In Kind to year ended 31 March 2024

£5946.25

Signed by

Name ……………………………………………………….……….…………………………………………. on behalf of all trustees Signature………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Date …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Annual Accounts Statement for the year ending 31 March 2024

People for Nature and Peace Trustees Report for the year ending 29 March 2024

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