Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation
The legacy
The Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation was founded by a Danish master carpenter and businessman with a deep interest in nature and in wild animals and birds. He bequeathed part of his fortune to the primary objective of nature conservation and wildlife protection. Recognising the founder’s nationality and wishes for special emphasis on projects in Denmark, a new foundation for Denmark, Aage V. Jensen Naturfond, was established in 2007.
The Foundation
The Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation operates all over the world via ownership as well as support of research and nature projects. The objective of the Foundation is to contribute to the preservation of nature in all its diversity. Through the acquisition of conservation areas, and through the participation in projects.
Nature reserves
The Foundation owns a number of nature reserves in Scotland, South Africa and Denmark. These nature reserves are to be protected or developed for the benefit of plants, wildlife, birds, fish – and people. An example is the Maremani Nature Reserve northeast of Johannesburg in South Africa. This reserve has been acquired to once again restore the tropical savannah with the indigenous plants and animals that were being threatened by human activity. The vision and mission for the nature reserves envisage the restoration of the natural habitats, as closely as possible, to their pristine state.
Supported projects
The Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation supports a number of large organisations as well as governments or local authorities involved in nature projects. The Foundation seeks co-operation and aims to create synergies, thereby significantly improving the collective chances of making significant and lasting changes. Preference is given to projects that show a strong local engagement, uncover local knowledge or improve access and the experience of the surrounding nature. Another preference is given to projects that provide tools for conservation efforts on a global basis. One example is the Foundation’s work with local conservation groups in setting up the Kinangop Grassland Reserve in Kenya. These local conservation groups are also part of a BirdLife International project. Another international project is with World Conservation Union (IUCN) on the legal framework for nature reserves. Through WWF we help the dolphin and fish populations in the Mekong River in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. We have supported SAVE Brasil in mapping the important bird areas in the Amazon Rainforest, and helped WSPA protect the bonobo ape in Congo.
To ensure optimum access for the scientific community to all relevant information gathered around the world, the Foundation sponsored the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) headquarters in Copenhagen. And to provide a window to all this knowledge the Foundation supports a large number of printed publications. Among these are The Birds of CITES (1993), The Prespa Project (1999), World Catalogue of Insects (2005), and Kruger National Park History (2007) plus numerous educational books on Greenland.