Annex 2, "Assessing a CTF's Use of the Practice Standards," includes an Assessment Tool Example, in a table format. For ease of use, the Excel version of that table is available for download here.

New in 2020

The goal of the update to the Practice Standards was to build on the much-used 2014 edition, by adding content that was not included in the original version due to time constraints, or that emerged from user feedback over the course of five years. After extensive stakeholder consultations, the consulting team of Wolfs Company and Aligning Visions, in partnership with the 2020 CTF Projects Task Force, identified and incorporated the following additions and changes:

• New Core Area for Risk Management and Safeguards

• Operations Core Area divided into two new Core Areas: Institutional Effectiveness and Programs

• New Asset Management standard on aligning a CTF’s investment policy with its mission and values

• Cross-cutting themes recognizing standards that appear in more than one Core Area: Communications, Human Resources, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Technology

• A new Annex on assessment against the Practice Standards, including sample assessment tools

• A new Annex on prioritizing the Practice Standards at different stages of CTF evolution

• One consolidated Glossary, with glossary terms hyperlinked to facilitate document navigation

The changes between the 2014 and 2020 editions of the Practice Standards are mapped in Annex 4.

The 2020 edition of the Practice Standards was launched on October 8, 2020 at the RedLAC and CAFÉ Virtual Congress. The webinar recording is available on YouTube. 

NOTE: In the document, words or phrases in bold are glossary terms. Each term has a hyperlink which, when clicked, takes the reader to the Glossary. Unlike a website, however, PDFs do not have an obvious “back” button. To return from the Glossary to the page you were reading, choose Acrobat’s “View” menu, then “Page Navigation,” then select “Previous View.”

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View Recording of Launch in Spanish (en Español)

Télécharger en Français (FR)

View Recording of Launch in French (en Français)

Self-Assessment Tool for Conservation Trust Funds

This is a user-friendly and dynamic instrument that allows CTFs to periodically assess their performance to increase their impact on global biodiversity conservation efforts.

Practice Standards For Conservation Trust Funds Monthly Webinar Series

As a follow-up to the publication of the 2020 edition of the Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds, we are pleased to announce a series of monthly webinars exploring the Standards in more depth. Each webinar, to be held on the third Tuesday of the month, will focus on specific content of the 2020 edition (Core Areas and/or Cross-Cutting Themes). The webinars will be hosted by the CFA's Environmental Funds Working Group.

View the schedule of planned webinars, as well as watch recordings of previous webinars here.

Background

The Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) were originally prepared in 2014 by Kathy Mikitin and Barry Spergel for the Conservation Finance Alliance. The standards have been enormously influential in helping CTFs document and improve their operations and for donors to have a greater understanding of, and impact on, CTF capacity at different points in their institutional maturation. 

In 2019, the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA), along with a strong task force of experienced volunteers from CTFs and donor organizations, and in collaboration with the networks of Conservation Trust Funds – RedLAC (the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds), CAFÉ (the Consortium of African Funds for the Environment) and APNET (Asia-Pacific Conservation Trust Fund Network) began the planned updating of the Practice Standards with the aim of maintaining the same evidenced-based norms that have proven so useful for the CTFs and the institutions and individuals who support them. 

Under the overall guidance of the CFA through the CTF Project Task Force and the Environmental Funds Working Group, Paquita Bath (Aligning Visions), Viviana Luján, and Amílcar Guzmán (Wolfs Company) partnered to update and expand the Practice Standards to reflect new opportunities and challenges faced by the CTFs. This revision also built on the findings of Conservation Trust Funds 2020: Global Vision, Local Action, conducted by the same team in parallel.

Objectives

These voluntary Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds are intended to serve as a tool for improving the design, management, and monitoring and evaluation of CTFs. CTFs and their donors can decide to use, aspire to, or adapt the Practice Standards to fit their particular needs. It is hoped that they will also serve as a basis for greater harmonization of international donor rules, standards, and policies for CTFs, resulting in lower transaction costs and greater conservation impact. 

Since 2014, the Practice Standards have increased the understanding of how CTFs can function most effectively, by current and potential donors, national governments, civil society organizations, and CTFs themselves. CTFs have also pointed to the Practice Standards as helping jumpstart new CTFs by providing clear guidelines for effective creation and consolidation. Many CTFs use the Practice Standards to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, often doing an annual review of their alignment with the Practice Standards. Similarly, many donors have used the standards to evaluate CTFs and streamline due diligence when considering investing in new or established CTFs.

The Practice Standards are not “set in stone” but will continue to evolve and be periodically updated by the CFA. Although it is possible that they could eventually evolve into a system of voluntary “certification” standards for CTFs, they are not designed to serve that purpose in their current form. 

The Update to the Practice Standards was made possible by the generous financial support of the following donors: