The Wildlife Heritage Area programme provides a framework for wildlife NGOs (charities and non-profit organisations) to link to communities working tirelessly to protect species and habitats. Wildlife Heritage Areas are a tool to assist NGOs as they prioritise the places and people with the best chance of delivering successful nature conservation and animal welfare initiatives relevant to their programmes and campaigns.

Wildlife NGOs are the cornerstone of the Wildlife Heritage Area designation process. Once matched with a potential Wildlife Heritage Area, the chosen NGO provides specialist expert advice and feedback to applicants on the protection of relevant species and habitats. Having completed our online training course, these NGOs also use their technical expertise to assess each application through to designation.