Wyoming billionaire pledges to protect 30% of the planet by 2030

Hansjörg Wyss leads a conservation effort of epic proportions.

If you follow global conservation and don’t already know the name Hansjörg Wyss, there’s a good chance you soon will.

Born in Bern, Switzerland, the 83-year-old entrepreneur and businessman first made his fortune in the Belgian steel industry before establishing the U.S. division of Synthes, a multinational medical device manufacturer best known for producing internal screws and plates used to help mend fractured bones. (The company has since been acquired by Johnson & Johnson.)

Now, Wyss — an avid outdoorsman and not-all-that improbable resident of the quaint mountain town of Wilson, Wyoming — is set to help mend the planet’s most fractured natural areas with the establishment of the Wyss Campaign for Nature, a special project of the Wyss Foundation that aims to conserve and protect 30 percent of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030. This is double the amount of the planet’s surface that’s currently protected.

Bolstered by a $1 billion investment, the campaign plans to reach this ambitious benchmark by "creating and expanding protected areas, establishing more ambitious international conservation targets, investing in science, and inspiring conservation action around the world."

This will all be achieved with help from major conservation players including the National […]

Full article: Wyoming billionaire pledges to protect 30% of the planet by 2030

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