CFA at CAFÉ

The Conservation Finance Alliance was pleased to participate in the CAFÉ Assembly held in Kasane, Botswana in early September, 2018, hosted by Forest Conservation Botswana.

Nearly 60 CFA members and potential members gathered for a CFA-hosted networking dinner on

the second day of the Assembly. Constance Corbier-Barthaux spoke about FFEM’s commitment to CFA and why the network plays a vital role in convening experts and fostering collaboration and innovation. Karen Price, President of CAFÉ, and Rosa Montanez, President of RedLAC, shared the history of the collaboration and partnership between CFA and their respective networks, including the CTIS, the Practice Standards for CTFs, and the original Conservation Finance Guide.
 
In addition, Kathy Mikitin and Katy Mathias gave a presentation on Innovative Finance for CTFs, organized by the CFA, as part of the Assembly. They presented on Biodiversity Offsets, PA Finance through Tourism, Impact Investing & Incubators, and Project Finance for Permanence. In addition, Katy presented the preliminary results of the CTIS for calendar year 2017.

North America CFA Members and Parters Event Held December 12th

The CFA held a Members and Partners meeting in North America at World Wildlife Fund’s offices in Washington DC on October 12th.  The meeting and networking event was a great opportunity to share the CFA’s activities and strategy as well as hear from a range of members and partners and build on the CFA’s outreach.  This event comes as part of our effort to energize the network and build momentum for the wide range of conservation finance initiatives we are all working on. 
 
In addition to a presentation from the CFA Executive Director (that can be found here) we heard from a range of partners including Melissa Moye who spoke about WWF’s many conservation finance initiatives including their Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) which recently closed on the Bhutan for Lifeproject.  Chris Stone and Romas Garbaliauskas from Conservation International respectively shared their efforts to support over 30 Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) through the Global Conservation Fund and implement a range of innovative approaches to engage the private sector in conservation finance – in part through the Coalition for Private Investment in Conservation (CPIC). Frank Hawkins of IUCN presented a detailed overview of CPIC’s initiatives including work on blueprints to replicate and scale private investments in conservation.  Forest Trends and Ecosystem Marketplace were represented by Kelly Hamrick and Michael Jenkins who shared their work on tracking market mechanisms for conservation and a publication last year on The State of Private Investment in Conservation.  Katy Mathias of the Wildlife Conservation Society explained a range of activities being implemented by WCS including work on biodiversity offsets, coral reef finance, and the Conservation Trust Investment Survey(CTIS) that is a collaborative annual report on CTF investment strategies and results.  Active discussions and questions continued through a short networking session.  As well, the Protected Areas Finance Working Group was officially relaunched by Charles Besancon as Chair (see related news).

CFA partnering with BBOP for European Event – Reception for CFA Members and BBOP Attendees

The CFA is working with the Business and Biodiversity Offset Programme (BBOP) to support the upcoming conference called: Working for Biodiversity Net Gain: Taking stock and prospects for the future that will be held in Paris during the Natural Capital Week – November 27th.  There will be a reception open to all CFA members (RSVP required) from 5:45 to 7:15pm at Caisse des Dépôts 15 quai Anatole France, 75007 Paris, followed by a group dinner for interested parties nearby. 
 
During the workshop that day, the CFA will host a breakout session entitled “Financing Biodiversity Net Gain” that will include a presentation by CFA Executive Director, David Meyers, called Building expertise in finance for net gain: the Conservation Finance Alliance and a presentation entitled Options and financing mechanisms for mitigation including offsets by CFA Ex Co Member Ray Victurine.  That session is open to attendees only.  You can download the full agenda for the BBOP meeting on November 27th, and register to attend using the email provided at this link (paid).  See the full range of events and conferences at the Natural Capital Coalition Website.

Save the Date for Relaunch of Innovation Working Group

We are pleased to announce that on November 15th, 2018 at 11am EDT we will have an online meeting to relaunch our Innovation Working Group. Hosted by Chair Ray Victurine, the meeting will cover the CFA Incubator as well as have a discussion around specific interests of the group for future activities.

Please RSVP on the Innovation Working Group page.

Online Meeting for Relaunch of Protected Areas Finance Working Group

Join us for a the first online meeting of the Working Group on Protected Area Finance on November 5th at 15:00 UTC. Annabelle Bladon will present the work she is doing for the Conservation Finance Guide on protected area entry and activity fees.

The webinar will also include a short presentation from Charles Besancon on short and longer-term priorities of the CFA Working Group on Protected Areas Finance including developing best practice guidelines on PA Finance, a semi-annual global report on PA Finance for the Convention on Biological Diversity and other international bodies and targeted support to national governments on PA finance options and implementation. David Meyers, the Executive Director of CFA will be on hand to discuss overall CFA priorities and some upcoming CFA events.

For further information and to RSVP please visit the PA Finance Working Group page

Best wishes,
    Charles Besancon
Chair, Working Group on Protected Area Finance

Upcoming Webinar – The Nature Trust Alliance: Collaboration and shared services for Conservation Trust Funds

CFA is pleased to host a webinar in partnership with the Nature Trust Alliance (NTA) on November 30th, 2018. The session will address the origin of the Nature Trust Alliance as well as the current structure, challenges, and benefits.  Presenters will include NTA Director Alba Carreras and Geof Giacomini - Executive Director of Caucases Nature Fund (CNF). 
 
The Nature Trust Alliance (NTA) is a unique collaboration between three conservation trust funds: the Caucasus Nature Fund, Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT) and the newly established Blue Action Fund. The NTA was established in 2016 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and provides operational support services (financial management, investment management, administration, communications, reporting, etc.) to these three funds, so the funds can focus on their core missions of employing innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms for nature conservation.

Pooled models for Conservation Trust Funds have been a long-term topic of discussion – the CFA conducted an analysis of the issue in 2014. The NTA is a unique implementation of a pooling approach and may serve as an example to other CTFs. We look forward to a rich discussion.
 
To learn more about NTA please join us for the webinar on November 30th, 2018 from 10-11am EDT.
 
An RSVP is required. GoTo Meeting call-in information will be sent out prior to the session.

CFA Side Event at the RedLAC Assembly, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

Please join the Conservation Finance Alliance for an engaging session on Monday, 29 October, from 13:30-16:30 in Sala Empresarial 2.

The agenda will feature:

• Current Investment Climate and Global Financial Situation – Javier Mtanous, Master Capital

• Conservation Trust Investment Survey for Calendar Year 2017 – presentation of results and discussion

• CFA’s key initiatives and strategic planning – presentation and discussion

• Re-launch of the Environmental Funds Working Group

Open to all attendees of the RedLAC Assembly. Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP so we can plan for your attendance.

Reminder: Workshop on Innovative Financing for Biodiversity Conservation at RedLAC

October 27-28 at RedLAC 2018 in Bolivia

As part of the 2018 Assembly of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC) the CFA is providing a two-day workshop for Environmental Funds and their partners.  This training focused workshop is a collaborative effort by CFA, RedLAC, Project K, and the hosts: Fundación para el Desarrollo del Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (FUNDESNAP) and Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitano (FCBC). The workshop aims to explore innovative tools that enhance Environmental Funds’ ability to finance and support biodiversity conservation. The workshop will use presentations, case studies, and facilitated group discussions to share innovations and learnings for several mechanisms in half-day sessions including: 1) Biodiversity Offsets, 2) Impact Investing & Enterprise Incubators, 3) Financing Protected Areas through Tourism, and 4) a topic to be determined by the participants.

Workshop sessions will explore enabling conditions and design features useful for effective financing mechanisms, compare implementation in different situations, and learn from successes as well as failures.

The workshop will be held in Santa Cruz de las Sierra, Bolivia, October 27th-28th, 2018, in the 2 days prior to the RedLAC Assembly.  Please register for both the RedLAC Assembly and the Workshop.
 
To Register for the Workshop: https://goo.gl/forms/gZDfvySqUr8WSjjW2
For more information contact: redlac@naturapanama.org

Please see the downloadable workshop agenda for further information.

Workshop on Innovative Financing for Biodiversity Conservation

October 27-28 at RedLAC 2018 in Bolivia

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As part of the 2018 Assembly of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC) the CFA is providing a two-day workshop for Environmental Funds and their partners.  This training focused workshop is a collaborative effort by CFA, RedLAC, Project K, and the hosts: Fundación para el Desarrollo del Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (FUNDESNAP) and Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitano (FCBC). The workshop aims to explore innovative tools that enhance Environmental Funds’ ability to finance and support biodiversity conservation. The workshop will use presentations, case studies, and facilitated group discussions to share innovations and learnings for several mechanisms in half-day sessions including: 1) Biodiversity Offsets, 2) Impact Investing & Enterprise Incubators, 3) Financing Protected Areas through Tourism, and 4) a topic to be determined by the participants.

Workshop sessions will explore enabling conditions and design features useful for effective financing mechanisms, compare implementation in different situations, and learn from successes as well as failures.

The workshop will be held in Santa Cruz de las Sierra, Bolivia, October 27th-28th, 2018, in the 2 days prior to the RedLAC Assembly.  Please register for both the RedLAC Assembly and the Workshop.
 
To Register for the Workshop: https://goo.gl/forms/gZDfvySqUr8WSjjW2
For more information contact: redlac@naturapanama.org

Please see the downloadable workshop description for further information.

New IUCN Report Helps Choose the Right Tools to Assess How Key Natural Areas Benefit People

IUCN has just issued new guidance to help practitioners assess ecosystem services within important sites for biodiversity and nature conservation. The report reviews nine assessment tools, focussing on their application in Key Biodiversity Areas, natural World Heritage sites and protected areas. It includes a set of “decision trees” to save time on the complex process of selecting the most appropriate tool for one’s specific needs.

The report, "Tools for measuring, modelling, and valuing ecosystem services: Guidance for Key Biodiversity Areas, natural World Heritage sites, and protected areas", is part of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas’ Best Practice Guidelines series. READ MORE

The guidelines have been prepared by IUCN’s World Heritage Programme and the IUCN-WCPANatural Solutions Specialist Group, and the Ecosystem Services and Key Biodiversity Areas expert working group supported by Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP), with funding and in-kind contributions provided by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (CCEA), Center for Biodiversity Outcomes at Arizona State University, Conservation International, SNAPP, and Wildlife Conservation Society.