Plan unveiled ‘to build a crowd-funded £5billion conservation park’ in South Africa that ‘will aim to preserve EVERY species of animal on the planet’
- Is this just pie-in-the-sky? A source on the project told MailOnline Travel that it’s serious
- The Jurassic World-style park, it’s hoped, will cover 100 square kilometres in KwaZulu Natal province
- The trials and tribulations of the project will be shown in a 12-part television series, airing in January
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As crowd-funding projects go, few are as ambitious as the one launched by British entrepreneur Richard Prinsloo Curson – who wants to raise the staggering sum of £5billion to build a conservation park that will aim to preserve ‘every species on the planet’.
The ‘state-of-the-art’ park, it’s hoped, will cover 100 square kilometres (38 square miles) in South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal province. It’s certainly a worthy cause. However, at the time of writing, just £55 has been raised.
So is this just pie-in-the-sky? A source connected to the Jurassic World-style project assured MailOnline Travel that it isn’t and that some extremely wealthy backers would soon be unveiled publically.
British entrepreneur Richard Prinsloo Curson wants to raise the staggering sum of £5billion to build a conservation park that will aim to preserve ‘every species on the planet’. This rendering shows the sheer ambition of the project
A film crew and photographic team have followed every aspect of the project team’s journey, from seeking approval from the King of the Zulus, to the development of the highly ambitious plans
The trials and tribulations of the project – dubbed ‘the biggest conservation project in history’ – will be shown in a 12-part television series called Noah’s Ark in January 2021.
A film crew and photographic team have followed every aspect of the project team’s journey, from seeking approval from the King of the Zulus, to the development of the highly ambitious plans.
Richard Prinsloo Curson said: ‘The animal kingdom is at crisis point. Climate change, overdevelopment, farming, ocean plastic, big game hunting and poaching are driving thousands of species off the face of the planet.
‘We owe it to future generations to preserve the natural world, or our children will be left fighting the horrific consequences of climate change to survive.’
Noah’s Ark will be broadcast on Globetrotter Television , Sky channel 192, from January 11, 2021. This is a rendering of the inside of one of the park’s museum buildings
Richard Prinsloo Curson said: ‘The animal kingdom is at crisis point. Climate change, overdevelopment, farming, ocean plastic, big game hunting and poaching are driving thousands of species off the face of the planet’
This image was taken by a member of the Noah’s Ark team at the proposed site of the park
WWF (World Wildlife Fund) reported in 2018 that humans have already wiped out 60 per cent of Earth’s animals since 1970.
Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF, said: ‘We are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff.
‘If there was a 60 per cent decline in the human population, that would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania.
‘That is the scale of what we have done. This is far more than just about losing the wonders of nature, desperately sad though that is. This is actually now jeopardising the future of people. Nature is not a “nice to have” – it is our life-support system.’
Noah’s Ark will be broadcast on Globetrotter Television, Sky channel 192, from January 11, 2021. To find out more about the project visit www.noahsark.life.
The Jurassic World-style park, it’s hoped, will cover 100 square kilometres in KwaZulu Natal province