GEORGETOWN, GUYANA The Desert Vipers have joined the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA), becoming its 133rd signatory after an ambitious campaign that used professional cricket to connect communities with Guyana’s exceptional biodiversity.
The membership was formally recognised on 28 July 2026 through a certificate signed by His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. The Vipers are the first sports team to have joined the Alliance.
Led by the Government of Guyana, the Global Biodiversity Alliance is an open, voluntary international platform bringing together governments, multilateral organisations, businesses, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, academia, scientists and civil society. It aims to raise global ambition and collaboration for the protection, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity, including support for the global target of conserving at least 30 per cent of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030.
The Vipers’ membership follows the Desert Vipers Styrex 2026 Guyana Biodiversity Campaign, supported by the Guyana Tourism Authority and delivered by Nature Wave during the 2026 ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League.
The campaign took cricket-led citizen science and nature education into parks, schools and cricket clubs. BioBlitz events were held at locations including the Botanical Gardens, Guyana National Park and the Guyana-China Friendship Park, alongside cricket-and-nature workshops at Demerara Cricket Club, Georgetown Cricket Club and Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club. Vipers’ own players participated directly, helping make biodiversity visible, accessible and relevant to new audiences.
Initial results recorded 1,604 biodiversity observations across 606 species, with more than 201 participants at the sessions and many more joining online. The programme has generated an estimated GYD8.66 million in social value, while campaign content has already received 113,000 views. On the pitch, the work was amplified through the Desert Vipers sporting the Global Biodiversity Stripes, created by Professor Miles Richardson from the University of Derby, on their match kit, highlighting how average global wildlife populations have declined by 73% since 1970.
Phil Oliver, CEO of Desert Vipers, commented: “We are thrilled to have become the first sports organisation to join the Global Biodiversity Alliance. The initiative, Led by H.E. President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, aligns perfectly with our mission at Desert Vipers where we aim to use our influence as a sports organisation to positively impact the communities we serve, and our planet. We are looking forward to contributing to this initiative, building on our successful biodiversity work to date.”
The Global Biodiversity Alliance Secretariat added: “The Global Biodiversity Alliance is pleased to welcome the Desert Vipers as the first sports organisation to join our growing global community. Biodiversity conservation is not the responsibility of governments and environmental organisations alone—it is a shared responsibility that calls for action from every sector of society. Sport has a unique ability to inspire, connect and mobilise millions of people, particularly young people, around shared values and positive action. The Desert Vipers’ commitment demonstrates how the power and reach of sport can help bring biodiversity into everyday conversations and inspire a new generation to become champions for nature. We look forward to working with the Desert Vipers to amplify the message that protecting our planet’s biodiversity is fundamental to our shared future.”
— Global Biodiversity Alliance Secretariat, an Initiative Led by H.E. President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
The recognition builds on several years of documented sustainability work by the Desert Vipers. The franchise is Dubai’s first signatory to the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework, and the first signatory from cricket to the IUCN-backed Sports for Nature Framework. Through its publicly available Sustainability Strategy, Sustainability Match and People & Planet reports, the Vipers measure their impact and publish progress transparently.
The Season 4 People & Planet Report records a 27.2 per cent reduction in carbon footprint and a 77.6 per cent reduction in plastic footprint compared with Season 1, while community programmes engaged 17,147 people and generated AED13.74 million in social impact value – an AED11.8 social return for every AED1.0 invested. Recent recognition includes winning Excellence in Sustainability at the 2026 Sports Industry Awards and the Biodiversity Award at the 2026 Forever Green Awards, organised by Real Betis Balompié.
The 2026 Guyana Biodiversity Campaign also reflects the Vipers’ belief that environmental work is most likely to endure when it creates value for communities, host countries and commercial partners at the same time. Fuelre4m is the primary partner for the franchise’s biodiversity work, while Styrex has supported the expansion of programmes that connect nature protection, citizen science and circular-economy innovation.
Rob Mortimer, CEO and Founder of Styrex by Fuelre4m, added: “Through the Desert Vipers Biodiversity Campaign, Styrex has helped demonstrate that protecting nature is not only about removing waste, but recognising the value within it. By creating a platform to transform waste expanded polystyrene into fuel, valuable hydrocarbons and commercial opportunity, Styrex reflects a belief we share: in nature and in communities, nothing and nobody is without value… you simply have to see the potential.”
As a member of the GBA, the Desert Vipers intend to continue expanding cricket-led citizen science and nature-connection programmes, share evidence from their work with other members, and explore practical collaborations between sport, government, communities, science and business.
