Polar bears are listed as a vulnerable species by the World Wildlife Foundation because of various threats including climate change and the wildlife trade. (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)
The Trump administration is considering whether to spend up to $50 million in foreign aid to protect polar bears in Greenland and $25 million for snow leopards in Nepal.
The move, which has not been previously reported or publicly announced, stunned diplomats and elected officials from the United States and other nations, as well as scientific researchers who work on conservation efforts for the animals involved, many of whom noted the administration’s dramatic cuts to other US foreign assistance.
The Greenland initiative is particularly noteworthy, as Trump - citing the Arctic island’s strategic location and rich natural resources - has repeatedly expressed a desire to acquire the semiautonomous territory through purchase or annexation.
Greenland remains part of the Danish realm, and its people have expressed little interest in Trump’s solicitations.
In a statement acknowledging the conversations that are underway, the State Department said that biodiversity funding was being considered only because it was mandated by Congress before Trump returned to the White House.
"This is very hard to justify as in America’s national interest, but because the State Department is complying with applicable laws and unable to reprogram the FY2024 funding, we are exploring creative ways to abide by the law and still advance our country’s strategic goals,” the statement says, using an abbreviation for the prior fiscal year.
One aim, the statement continued, was to identify "opportunities to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties with key partners” and advance Trump’s foreign policy goals "even while forced to meet this congressionally mandated earmark.”
Researchers who work on polar bear conservation in Greenland expressed bewilderment over the scale of the funding proposal under consideration, calling it many orders of magnitude greater than their current funding and saying the figure was so vast that it was unclear if it could all be spent. These people, like several others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Trump administration’s calculations.
Congressional aides who have been briefed on the $2 billion reallocation told The Post that they had sought explanation from the administration given Trump’s vow to annex Greenland. When informed of the biodiversity proposals being devised, some said they were incredulous to learn the polar bear and snow leopard projects could receive so much money.
The governments of Denmark, Greenland and Nepal did not respond to requests for comment.
If carried out, the biodiversity funding proposals could dramatically alter such conservation efforts. The Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, a body that tracks the island’s wildlife, has an annual budget of less than $500,000 for polar bear research. Most of that money comes from the Danish government, according to annual reports.
Several State Department staffers said they, too, were shocked to learn the Trump administration wanted to spend money to protect endangered animals, given its recent record on wildlife conservation.
Polar bears and snow leopards both are listed as a vulnerable species by the World Wildlife Foundation, because of various threats including climate change and the wildlife trade.
There are roughly 26,000 polar bears worldwide, with around 3,000 thought to be in Greenland. The planet has at least 4,000 snow leopards, with fewer than 400 living in Nepal.
