Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of UK Overseas Development Assistance is allocated to training park rangers for the protection of endangered species.

We cannot provide this as a percentage of Overseas Development Aid (ODA) spend, as ODA spend varies in line with the 0.7% commitment. However through Defra’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund around £18.5million has been allocated to 61 projects in developing countries. Defra Challenge Fund projects focused on training rangers are as follows:

• Combatting illegal wildlife trade in the W-Arly-Pendjari landscape - ZSL
• Increasing capacity for anti-poaching and enhancing human-elephant coexistence - Tanzanian Elephant Programme
• Developing elephant eco-guardians: fundamental for co-ordinated anti-poaching/trafficking initiatives in Mali - Wild Foundation, Mali Elephant Project
• Counter-Poaching Training Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa - Tusk Trust.