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USAID funding freeze: The USAID funding freeze, affecting nearly half of global humanitarian aid, has destabilised essential services worldwide, with ripple effects threatening ecosystems, biodiversity, and vulnerable communities.
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Rising Threats to Wildlife and Ecosystems: Disrupted food aid and healthcare systems are forcing communities to turn to forests and wildlife for survival, leading to deforestation, habitat destruction, and increased risks of zoonotic diseases.
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Your Support is Critical: As a key alternative funding mechanism, WildCats Conservation Alliance is working to fill the gap—funding ranger patrols, protecting endangered species like tigers and Amur leopards, and supporting communities to safeguard ecosystems.
In January 2025, American President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign aid administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aiming to reassess its alignment with his “America First” policy. This freeze is more than just a temporary disruption—it serves as a warning. It represents a fundamental shift in the United States’ relationship with the wider world, further entrenching an increasingly isolationist approach to foreign policy.
With the US accounting for around 47% of all global aid spending, this abrupt suspension has already had significant, wide-ranging impacts. USAID provides essential support worldwide in areas spanning healthcare, education, infrastructure, food security and disaster relief. The funding freeze has destabilised these efforts, leaving vulnerable people across the world without lifesaving support. The full-scale implications of this policy decision are not yet fully known, but the wider strain the funding cuts will put on environmental systems both directly and indirectly is going to be highly significant.
Indirect impact on global biodiversity
The deadly human health and socio-economic crises created by the funding freeze will indirectly increase threats to ecosystems. These ecosystem disruptions are likely to create a feedback loop that further exacerbates threats to public health, environmental stability, the wider economy and community wellbeing.
But what could these threats look like? The following is a snapshot of come of the anticipated impacts on our natural world.
Disrupted global food assistance programs: The funding freeze has significantly disrupted global food assistance programmes, endangering food security in regions already struggling with hunger and starvation. As malnutrition intensifies, affected communities may turn to forests and wildlife for fuel, bushmeat, and agricultural expansion into previously protected areas. These survival strategies can lead to deforestation, habitat destruction, and increased human-wildlife interactions further destabilising ecosystems.
Collapse of Healthcare Systems: As some communities rely on wild sources for sustenance, exposure to zoonotic diseases (spread from wildlife to people) may increase, which cannot be effectively managed without robust healthcare systems. However, the closure of clinics, particularly in vulnerable areas such as refugee camps in Thailand serving 100,000 refugees from Myanmar, leaves thousands without access to essential medical care. This increases the risk of disease outbreaks due to interrupted vaccination programmes. The growing prevalence of human diseases among populations living near wildlife habitats also raises the risk of reverse zoonotic transmission—where diseases pass from humans to wildlife—creating a vicious cycle that endangers both human and environmental health.
Direct impact on global biodiversity
Along with its humanitarian work, USAID has been a pivotal supporter of biodiversity projects globally. As such, the freeze has also directly disrupted wildlife conservation efforts worldwide. For example, the Asian Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service is currently suspended in accordance with the President’s Executive Order.
Increased Poaching and Illegal Activities: If the Rhino and Tiger Conservation fund is withdrawn, conservation efforts to protect critically endangered species such as tigers may have to be scaled back due to funding cuts, leading to a reduction in patrol teams essential for monitoring and protection. With reduced ranger patrols and community enforcement, protected areas may experience a surge in illegal activities, including poaching and illegal logging. This is exacerbated by communities forced to turn to forests and wildlife for sustenance as humanitarian aid is withdrawn.
Livelihoods: Additionally, livelihoods connected to conservation efforts are at risk. Ranger patrols and community programmes, which provide essential jobs in protected areas, are under threat due to funding cuts. Without these roles, local communities may be forced to turn to unsustainable practices—such as illegal logging, poaching, or agricultural expansion into protected habitats—to survive.
Erosion of Community Trust: Many conservation projects rely on strong relationships with local communities which have been built over many years. The sudden withdrawal of support may undermine trust and discourage community-led conservation efforts.
Alternative funding mechanisms
In the face of this uncertainty, we must be proactive in addressing the shortfall. By diversifying funding sources, strengthening alternative funding mechanisms like WildCats Conservation Alliance, and deepening community partnerships, we can ensure that vital conservation efforts and livelihoods continue to be supported—regardless of shifting global politics.
As USAID funding freezes threaten vital conservation projects and force vulnerable communities to turn to forests and wildlife for survival, we are continuing to ensure that our organisation serves people and wildlife with an unwavering commitment. But we cannot do it alone.
Your support is essential.
With your donation, we can continue to fund ranger patrols that protect endangered species from poaching, support community outreach programmes that reduce reliance on unsustainable livelihoods, and safeguard ecosystems critical to both human and environmental health. Together, we can help prevent a crisis from becoming a catastrophe.
