Project update - November 2005

ACAP India initiates a collective effort towards wildlife conservation
by Christina Schulthoff

The Active Conservation Awareness Programme (ACAP) India has had a busy year. With its massive support system of international media, star actors, athletes and politicians, the programme has managed to make an impact since its launch in February 2004.

India is not only the world's largest democracy but also one of the last strongholds of wildlife. The country is home to the world's largest number of wild tigers and one-horned rhinos, the only remaining wild population of Asiatic lion and numerous other endangered species. In order to protect this rich wildlife, ACAP India is working to educate people about the consequences of trade in illegal wildlife.

The programme's aim is to raise awareness about the threats facing India's wildlife and to reduce consumer demand for endangered species products. Within only one year, the programme, in cooperation with the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), has enlisted the support of India's president and prime minister, several members of Parliament and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, all of whom have signed ACAP's Global Leaders' Pledge for Wildlife.

Celebrity messages by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Indian cinema icons Shashi Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah as well as cricket legends Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar have been broadcast to viewers in 31 local languages and English.

For its launch, ACAP created a television campaign, which was aired on Doordashan, India's No. 1 national TV station with over 1 billion viewers, as well as ZeeTV, reaching 225 million viewers in 80 countries and Sahara, accessing nearly 39 million Indian homes and 66 countries. Celebrity messages are also broadcast on international channels such as CNN and Discovery Networks and Amitabh Bachchan's conservation message is screened in cinemas throughout Bombay and Delhi.

But last year's success is no reason to rest for ACAP India. Future plans include an airport awareness campaign to educate travellers and tourists and attempt to discourage wildlife traffickers.

ACAP is a programme of US-based conservation organisation WildAid, which is supported by international ambassador Jackie Chan, actors Minnie Driver and Ralph Fiennes, world champion sprinter Maurice Greene and award winning director Ang Lee, among others. First launched in 1996, the programme is active in countries such as China, India, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. Its celebrity messages reach up to 1 billion viewers across the globe every week through ACAP's network of media sponsors, including Bloomberg Television, CNN International, Discovery Networks Asia, National Geographic Channel Asia and US, America's CBS, Fox and NBC, Star TV and Malaysia's TV3.

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