Today, the United for Wildlife Global Summit opens in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event unites Indigenous leaders, governments, CEOs and philanthropies as they demonstrate their shared commitment to those risking their lives to protect nature.

During his keynote address at the summit later today, His Royal Highness Prince William will extend his commitment to supporting Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities with details of a brand new initiative. The summit will highlight the critical role of Indigenous communities as leaders and decision-makers, and the new initiative – details of which will be announced during Prince William’s speech – will build on the success of the ranger insurance package announced at last year’s summit in Cape Town.

The five-year financial package, in partnership with Tusk Trust and the Game Ranger Association of Africa, was established to provide 10,000 rangers across Africa with access to appropriate, affordable in-service and medical evacuation insurance cover. Just one year into the rollout, the programme has reached over half of that target, insuring more than 6,000 rangers.

This year, the Global Summit will provide a platform to reframe environmental crime as a strategic global priority that is at the heart of climate, nature action and sustainable development. The summit also seeks to create fresh impetus among governments and the private sector to turn concern into coordinated action. The summit brings together over 400 partners from governments, the private sector, law enforcement, and NGOs to draw global attention to the rise in environmental crime and celebrate frontline defenders, driving momentum and solutions for coordinated global action.

A number of high-impact announcements will be made during the summit. These include new funding streams that work with Indigenous and community-led groups; commitments from governments; expanded private-sector efforts to cut off the financial and transport networks that enable environmental crime and profiling the latest satellite technology to monitor real time changes in the environment.

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