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Sunset over a river
The Krupa River in the Balkans region of Southeast Europe, also known as the ‘blue heart of Europe’

Companies Investing in Nature

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation

Restoring Rivers and Freshwater Ecosystems in the United States, Canada, Europe and Beyond

September 12, 2018 | Last updated September 13, 2022

Around the world, our rivers, lakes and streams are being pushed to the brink. Today, one-third of all freshwater fish face extinction ​and nearly half of all people on the planet live in water-stressed locations. For people and nature, the need to protect and restore our global freshwater ecosystems has never been more urgent.

To help address these challenges, The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation (ERACF) has made a second five-year pledge of $30 million to The Nature Conservancy (TNC)—bringing its total commitment to the organization to $60 million over 10 years.

Renewed support from ERACF will help TNC conserve thousands of kilometers of rivers and streams and thousands of hectares of watersheds (including floodplains, wetlands and lakes), as well as benefit millions of people.

Specifically, funding will support TNC’s work to improve the health of rivers and freshwater ecosystems and foster resilient communities in the United States, Canada and Europe. It will also support the critical advancement of science and tools needed to achieve conservation impact at global scales.

Priority areas include:

  • UNITED STATES – TNC is working to improve the health of rivers and watersheds to benefit nature and people across the U.S., including in the Mississippi and Colorado River Basins.  
  • CANADA – TNC is working to support Indigenous-led conservation of lands and waters, including in the Canadian boreal and coastal British Columbia. 
  • EUROPE - TNC is working to protect rivers threatened by hydropower and restore thousands of kilometers of rivers across the continent.

Globally, support from ERACF is helping protect and restore rivers and freshwater ecosystems and bend the curve on biodiversity loss by enabling TNC to create and share the science, tools and technical support needed for priority geographies and key stakeholders like water utilities, NGOs, and government agencies.

Support from ERACF has already helped TNC and partners achieve conservation outcomes at this estimated scale*:

  • 54 million pounds of pollutants kept out of rivers and streams
  • 5,384 river miles with secured or improved health
  • 78 million people benefiting from actions to improve water security
  • 7 million acres conserved

*Source: The Nature Conservancy