Representatives from six Conservation Trust Funds in the Asia-Pacific region met in Jakarta, Indonesia in early December 2017 to form the Asia-Pacific Conservation Trust Fund Network, to be known as “APNET.”
The new network, modeled on RedLAC and CAFÉ, will serve as a collaborative and knowledge-sharing platform for CTFs in the Asia-Pacific region, and will help to facilitate linkages with CTFs in other parts of the world.
Six founding members came together over three days in Jakarta, ably hosted by Yayasan KEHATI, to formally create the network, ratify the governing principles, elect the first Executive Committee, and select the Host Institution to house the Secretariat.
APNET’s founding members are Arannayk Foundation of Bangladesh, represented by Farid Uddin Ahmed and Dr Muhammed Quddus; Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation, represented by Dr. Pema Choephyel and Singye Dorji; Forest Foundation Philippines, represented by Jose Andres Canivel; Foundation for the Philippine Environment represented by Oliver Agoncillo; Micronesia Conservation Trust represented by Lisa Ranahan Andon; and Yayasan KEHATI of Indonesia represented by M.S. Sembiring, Indra Gunawan and Fardila Astari. The Phoenix Islands Protected Area Trust and Tasmanian Land Conservancy are also founding members but were unable to attend the meeting in person.
Farid Uddin Ahmed, Lisa Ranahan Andon, Pema Choephyel, Jane Hutchinson, and M.S. Sembiring were elected to the Executive Committee.
Yayasan KEHATI was selected as the first Host Institution of the network, and will serve as the base for the Secretariat.
APNET plans to hold its first Assembly in March, 2019.
Other meeting attendees included Nety Riana and Mozaika Hendarti of Yayasan KEHATI, Robert Baigrie of Conservation International, Katy Mathias of Wildlife Conservation Society, and Roman Czebiniak of EcoNusantara.
Funding for the meeting and the initial formation of APNET was provided by Conservation International, Fonds Français for l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM) and the MAVA Foundation.
MedPAN Has Launched Two Calls for Small Projects
MedPAN has launched 2 Calls for Small Projects to support the actions led in Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the Mediterranean. The Calls for Small Projects aim to reinforce MPA management.
The Calls for Small Projects are open to:
- MPA management authorities and organisations responsible or involved in MPA management, which are members or partners of MedPAN.
- and other organisations (NGOs, private companies, scientific institutions ...) collaborating with MPAs members of MedPAN.
Please note that the two calls have specific eligibility rules, application forms and deadlines. Please see the full email from MedPAN for specific information on the two calls.
This Call for Small Projects is made possible through the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the MAVA Foundation.
Conservation Finance Alliance Receives Major Funding Award from FFEM and MAVA Foundation
The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) is excited to announce today that the French Facility for Global Environment / Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial (FFEM) and the MAVA Foundation have jointly awarded 701,114 Euros (822,315 USD) to support CFA.
The CFA network is supported by generous financial and in-kind contributions from its members. FFEM and MAVA will jointly fund the next stage of CFA. Both organizations are CFA members and have a long history of working to combat the world’s environmental challenges, as well as an enduring commitment to biodiversity conservation.
“The CFA members are a dynamic group, and the network needed to grow and evolve to meet the members’ needs for outreach, knowledge sharing, and collaboration,” said Sylvie Goyet, member of the CFA Executive Committee. “We’re excited by the opportunities that the FFEM and MAVA funding will make possible.”
Among the targeted uses for the funding, CFA will hire its first full-time Executive Director and a small staff to support programming and membership. It will build the network's capacity for administration and fundraising, and assess approaches to knowledge management and sharing to further support collaboration and cross-pollination among members. Additionally, CFA plans to create an Innovative Financing Mechanisms “Incubator” to enable members to develop new approaches to sustainable financing for conservation and protected areas.
“We are honored to host CFA and to be managing this generous donation made by FFEM and the MAVA Foundation,” said WCS Executive Vice President for Conservation and Science John Robinson. “This critical funding will be used to take CFA to the next level in promoting sustainable funding solutions for protected areas and the world’s biodiversity.” WCS is a co-founder of the CFA and currently serves as its host.
The CFA has several immediate projects underway and planned. Presently, CFA is updating a comprehensive resource guide on sustainable financing mechanisms in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme's BIOFIN program, a CFA member. It is also launching a workshop on investment management for Conservation Trust Funds in association with the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC), and renewing a series of knowledge-sharing webinars offered by members.