Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a joint biodiversity conservation initiative of l'

Agence Française de Développement The French Development Agency (french: Agence française de développement, AFD) is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government. It works to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. This pub ...

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The org ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (PO ...

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state ...

, and

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. CEPF also receives funding from several regional donors, including the MAVA Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is a foundation established in 1999 and administered by four trustees selected by Leona Helmsley. The Trust supports a wide range of organizations, with a major focus on health and medical resear ...

. The fund’s headquarters are hosted at Conservation International in Arlington, Virginia, United States. CEPF works to protect ecosystems and the species within them by awarding grants to local and international civil society organizations working in biodiversity hotspots around the world. Grant recipients include nonprofit organizations, indigenous peoples groups and small businesses, among others. Since its inception, CEPF has funded conservation projects in 25 biodiversity hotspots across 105 countries and territories. The fund has committed a total of USD 259 million to more than 2,500 civil society organizations.

History

CEPF was developed by Conservation International's founding CEO Peter Seligmann and former president of the World Bank

James Wolfensohn Sir James David Wolfensohn (1 December 193325 November 2020) was an Australian-American lawyer, investment banker, and economist who served as the ninth president of the World Bank Group (1995–2005). During his tenure at the World Bank, he is ...

. The fund was founded in 2000 and began awarding grants in 2001. In addition to Conservation International and the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility was a founding partner. Four additional donors later joined: L'Agence Française de Développement, the European Union, the Government of Japan and the MacArthur Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation ended its funding to CEPF in 2018.

Approach to Conservation

The CEPF Donor Council determines the biodiversity hotspots in which CEPF invests. Only hotspots that primarily include countries with developing or transitional economies are considered. For each investment, CEPF prepares an extensive “ecosystem profile” to inform its conservation strategy in the respective hotspot. This document is developed in consultation with experts and local stakeholders and provides an overview of the political, socio-economic and environmental situation in the region. The ecosystem profile also identifies priority Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and corridors, which become the specific places where CEPF awards grants. CEPF awards two types of grants: small and large. The average size of small grants is about USD 15,000. The average size of large grants is about USD 150,000. For each of its investments, CEPF establishes a regional implementation team located at an organization either within or close to the biodiversity hotspot. The regional implementation team is chosen through a competitive grant process and assists with awarding CEPF grants within the hotspot and developing the capacity of local organizations.

Funding Sites

Below are the biodiversity hotspots in which CEPF has made an investment: 2001 – 2006: Sundaland (USD 10 million) 2001 – 2011: Cape Floristic Region (USD 7.65 million) 2001 – 2012: Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands (USD 5.6 million) 2001 – 2013: Tropical Andes (USD 8.13 million) 2002 – 2007: Philippines (USD 7 million) 2002 – 2011: Atlantic Forest (USD 10.4 million) 2002 – 2011: Mesoamerica (USD 14.5 million) 2002 – 2013: Mountains of Southwest China (USD 7.9 million) 2002 – 2013: Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena (USD 6.95 million) 2003 – 2012: Succulent Karoo (USD 9.3 million) 2003 – 2013: Caucasus (USD 9.5 million) 2004 – 2014: Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa (USD 8.75 million) 2005 – 2010: Himalaya (USD 5 million) 2008 – 2013: Indo-Burma (USD 9.7 million) 2008 – 2013: Polynesia–Micronesia (USD 7 million) 2008 – 2015: Western Ghats and Sri Lanka (USD 6 million) 2010 – 2015: Caribbean Islands (USD 6.9 million) 2010 – 2015: Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany (USD 6.65 million) 2012 – 2019: Eastern Afromontane (USD 12 million) 2013 – 2020: Indo-Burma (USD 15.8 million) 2013 – 2021: East Melanesian Islands (USD 9 million) 2014 – 2019: Wallacea (USD 6.85 million) 2015 – 2020: Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands (USD 9.54 million) 2015 – 2020: Tropical Andes (USD 10 million) 2016 – 2021: Cerrado (USD 8 million) 2016 – 2021: Guinean Forests of West Africa (USD 9 million) 2019 – 2024: Mountains of Central Asia (USD 8 million) 2020 – 2025: Indo-Burma (USD 10 million) 2021 – 2026: Caribbean Islands (USD 11.8 million)

References

External links

* {{official website Environmental organizations based in Virginia Organizations based in Virginia