 |
| Jason Hartman |
The 2009 Idols winner Jason Hartman will be the celebrity face of the International Anti Poaching Foundation (IAPF), the non-profit organisation that aims at combating poaching on a global level through recruiting, training, equipping and deploying rangers to protect our wildlife. Whereas there is a frontline in place with highly skilled and trained rangers to meet poaching head-on, Jason’s involvement will be at community level. “Although we need to target the actual poachers, we also need to combat the cause, which in many instances arises from the mere need for poorer communities to put food on the table,” said Jason, who will be undertaking intensive training to gain a more holistic view on the global problem. “Through my personal projects – Jason’s Garden and Men of Trees - my goal is to reduce the desire to poach at community level by uplifting them and teaching them how to sustain themselves though methods such as basic subsistence farming.”
The threat of poaching is increasing daily, and to date it is the second largest criminal activity in the world at a cost of $13 billion annually, followed by human trafficking and just behind drug trafficking. Aside from rhino and elephant poaching, one of the biggest threats to our planet is the poaching of wood, which has a direct impact on global warming through deforestation. “We were only too happy to work with Jason as his mind-set of tackling poaching at community level has added a fresh approach to reducing this problem,” said Damien Mander, Director, International Anti Poaching Foundation, “Our team will be able to learn from his ability to engage with people through his music and extensive experience of working within poorer communities.”
Jason shot to fame as the joint winner of the 2009 season of Idols and had a smash hit with Break The Silence from his top-selling album On The Run (on Sony Music). He is currently working on a new CD which will be out in early 2012, the first single out in November this year. This year also saw Jason perform at the wedding festivities of the Prince and Princess of Monaco.
Comments
Post a Comment