The Darwin Initiative is a

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

funding program that aims to assist countries with rich

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

but poor financial resources to meet their objectives under the

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

(CBD), the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

(CITES), and the

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve migratory species throughout their r ...

(CMS).

Establishment

The Darwin Initiative was announced by the UK Government in 1992 at the

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. It was established as a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...

of DETR, moving to DEFRA on its formation in 2001. In 2010 DEFRA provided annual funding of £7 Million. This will be increased during the period to 2014.

Darwin Advisory Committee

The Darwin Initiative is managed by the Darwin Advisory Committee (DAC), and currently chaired by Professor David Macdonald. The first chairman was Sir Crispin Tickell who was succeeded by Professor David S. Ingram in 1999. Ingram held the post until handing over to Macdonald in 2005. The DAC comprises experts from government, academic, science and the private sector. The DAC's

Terms of Reference Terms of reference (TOR) define the purpose and structures of a project, committee, meeting, negotiation, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal. Terms of reference show how the object in ...

state its purpose to be

"To advise the
Secretary of State for the Environment The secretary of state for the environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). Today, its responsibilities are carried out by the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs and the ...
on the principles and objectives of the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species grant programme in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity especially Article 5, taking into account the past experience of the grant programme."

The DAC therefore advises Ministers on development of the Initiative and makes recommendations on applications for funding. The DAC is supported by a small secretariat team provided by DEFRA. Under the

2010 UK quango reforms Following the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the UK Government under the Cameron–Clegg coalition announced plans to curb public spending through the abolition of a large number of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quan ...

, the Darwin Advisory Council will be reconstituted as a ''committee of experts'' effective by March 2011.

Projects funded

The scope of supported projects is very broad and includes: * * Institutional capacity building * Training * Research * Work to implement the Biodiversity Convention * Environmental education or awareness Supported projects include some based in the UK, UK Overseas Territories and over 100 countries worldwide. In December 2010, the Darwin Initiative had invested a total of £79,652,500 in 728 projects in 156 countries since 1992.

References

External links

* http://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/ Official Site Science and technology in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1992 1992 establishments in the United Kingdom Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government {{science-org-stub